Want to give something back to your community?

1.Cheshire Home
PB-93, Pollibetta
571215
S. Kodagu

By Mr.Rana Nanjappa

The Coorg Cheshire Home Day Center (CH) is located in Polibetta, Virajpet Taluk, Kodagu District in Karnataka. There are 94 villages in the taluk with a population of 200,000. According to the 2001 census there were approximately 1200 disabled adults and children living in the taluk.

I was met by the key person running the place – Ms. Geeta Chengappa along with two other volunteers, Mrs S. Begum and Mrs. Cariappa. They as well as about ten other volunteers live in the area and volunteer their services as and when needed. Each volunteer has a specific responsibility – teaching, administration, networking, gardening etc.
The home was as described in their application/proposal. The scope of the work they do in the community was much better to grasp by going on site and talking to the volunteers and staff.

While I was there during the visit I made on two consecutive days, there were about 18 children and 16 adult disabled onsite. The children, and the adults were given therapy by three trained and qualified therapists. The therapists had a room for residence in the center. The attached kitchen was used by them and for meals for the students. A van picks up the children and adults from their homes or convenient collection points every morning and returned them home in the evening.
The children had their own classroom where a teacher taught them basic math, science, geography, English and Kannada. The ages of the children ranged from 5 to about 16. More boys than girls. The teaching was informal and driven by circumstances – since the types of disabilities were varied. The children were reasonably well dressed and obedient. They would go for therapy as and when the therapy schedule demanded.
Cheshire Homes (CH) Day Center since 2000 is doing its best to provide basic education to disabled children and adults as well as improve functional abilities and health of the disabled. – and increase their access to health services. The older children and adults – disability permitting - were trained with basic skills and simple trades to help improve their economic conditions.
The building itself was a long rectangle. It consisted of an Office and store; children’s class room; adult class room; vocational training room; residence room for therapists and kitchen.
A large open area outside and right next and below it was a flower and vegetable garden maintained by the volunteers. The children were encouraged to work in the garden and were given insights into nutrition while doing so. There was quite a bit of open ground for the children and adults to move around when the weather was good. The funds granted by Asha was planned to be used to build a covered playground here so the children could go out and play even during the four to five rainy months in a year. Any child, disability permitting, was encouraged to try their hands at simple handicraft projects. Greeting cards, stationery items and the like were the main products attempted by them. Adults were taught other trades.
Before being admitted to the Center each child is assessed for personal as well as health information. These records were maintained as long as the child was there. CH monitors the health of the children, and when required, arranges for hospital care as well.

What was most remarkable was the involvement in the community. CH actively extends its services as a resource agency in the whole district. By interfacing and interceding with the schools and the District authorities, they try to empower the disabled and create a conducive environment.
Since 2000, CH volunteers, and Ms Chengappa in particular, attend seminars and conferences on disabilities around the country. Besides the children in the Center they also help the disabled in the taluk and district. They have held more than 40 awareness programs in schools and all the teachers have been sensitized to children with disabilities. Ramps have been constructed in 64 schools to give access to the disabled students.
One example to illustrate the scope of the work done by CH: Sumair is an 8-year-old boy with Locomotor Disability. He has no sensation in his lower limbs. Through CH’s efforts he got an ID card, a Physically Handicapped Pension, a wheel chair and has applied for a scholarship for schooling. Twice a week the CH van takes him to a regular school nearby. Through CH he has attended a Summer Camp, Talent Competition and sports. His mother is being assisted by CH in an application to a government scheme to get land in Sumair’s name to build a house. Help such as this is given to students and their families wherever possible. Parents are helped in getting bank loans and micro finance.

The Cheshire Homes Day Center is a comprehensive effort to improve the conditions and the capabilities of disabled children and adults all over the district. This is a project that should earn support from Asha for Education, now and in the future.


2.Opportunity School
P.B.NO. 40, SIDDAPUR ROAD, MADIKERI - 571201. KARNATAKA

The Opportunity School is based on the campus of Kodagu Vidyalaya. The Opportunity School will run under a separate Trust comprising of the members of the Managing Committee of Kodagu Vidyalaya and a few individuals invited to be as trustees. The institution is known as Kodagu Vidyalaya Opportunity School.
Kodagu Vidyalaya will involve students in classes Eight, Nine and Eleven in teaching these children. World over it has been found that this has been an enriching experience for all the people involved in the prograrnme, children, students and teachers and parents.
A number of disabled children live far away from Madikeri and so will only be able to come once or twice a week. It is the aim of Kodagu Vidyalaya to make the Opportunity School into a Resource Centre for the whole of Kodagu District. By establishing a Contact Programme and having the trained personnel of the school visit each Taluk in Kodagu District at least once a week. So that more contact can be maintained with the disabled children and parents and there is a continuity maintained in therapy. Training can also be imparted to personnel.
The Opportunity School began functioning from the 4th of. November 1996. Mrs. Meena Cariappa, daughter-in-law ' of late Field Marshal K.M. Cariappa has readily agreed to guide the staff and maintain records and assess the level reached by each, individual child. She has been trained in Hyderabad, has had a number of years of experience dealing with mentally disabled children and written text books for these children. The School already has a full complement of teachers, including Mrs. Gita Shridhar, with a lot of experience and trained, Mrs. Sarika Khuranna, a Post graduate in Speech and Hearing, Ms. Mayuri Somaiah, a trained Montessori teacher.
We are aware that there are a number of people who would like to, help the children in this special section, but are unable to do so owing to distance or lack of time.
This is to inform you that necessary measures have been taken to make it possible for you to help a child by financially sponsoring one. The amount has been fixed at $50 per child per month. Arrangements have been made wherein sponsorship can be collected monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually, whichever is convenient to tile sponsor.
In the case of corporations, organizations or institutions the amount is $300.00 per child per annum. This is so as it costs so much to maintain 'a child in the opportunity section.

Board of Trustees.