A special school for the specially abled
R Uday Kumar, TNN | Sep 5, 2012, 05.24AM IST
Belgaum: When Gautam Bavdekar, a computer engineer residing in Mumbai, decided to put his ancestral home in Belgaum to some good use, he approached Snehalaya, an NGO from Ahmednagar. However, Snehalaya, at that juncture was not able to arrive at what exactly it should do with the house that spanned across three guntas in Bazar Galli Khasbag in Belgaum. So Bavdekar's plans of donating the house hung in balance.
A year after that, sometime in the second half of 2011, realizing the need for a school for mentally challenged children in the region, Snehalaya thought of opening a special school, utilizing Bavdekars' house in Belgaum for the purpose. But when it tried to approach the Bavdekars in Mumbai, the NGO learnt that Gautam Bavdekar was no more. The man in his late fifties passed away on July 31, 2011, even before his dreams of serving the society by putting his house to good use came through.
However, the NGO did not have to return empty handed. Gautam's wife Neeta willingly abnegated the property in Belgaum and handed it over to the NGO, so that her husband's last wish was fulfilled. Thanks to her generous gesture, today, Bavdekars' spacious home in Belgaum has been converted into a special school named 'Sparsh,' providing training to several mentally disabled children, equipping them to lead a normal life like others and also face the challenges in the abliest societal system.
Sparsh School is a joint initiative by some parents of mentally challenged children and Snehalaya, the NGO. Though there were special schools for the blind, deaf and dumb in Belgaum city, there wasn't a full-fledged school for the mentally challenged. Established on July 31, 2012, on the death anniversary day of Gautam Bavdekar, Sparsh School is very well-equipped to fill the gap.
According to some estimates, there are nearly 800 mentally challenged children in Belgaum city. "Raising a child who is mentally challenged calls for emotional strength and flexibility on the part of parents. Mentally challenged children have special needs in addition to the regular needs of other children. Unfortunately, these children are still neglected in the society. Parents of normal children often do not allow their wards to play with mentally retarded children. We, at the school, aim at preparing the mentally retarded children to be self dependent for their day today needs and face the world outside," said Naresh Patil, a city-based builder and parent of a mentally challenged child. He, along with several others parents runs the school and the day care centre at Sparsh.
At Sparsh, children are trained in identifying colours and shapes, inculcating time sense, dressing sense, personal hygiene, eating habits, and so on. Class room training, yoga, speech therapy, physiotherapy, vocational training, excursions, picnics and several other extracurricular activities are part of the training.
One rupee a day
In the days to come, Sparsh plans to get more therapy specialists at the school. Also there are plans to open a special garden in the premises. They have started a fund raising scheme called 'A rupee a day', where donations are collected to the tune of Rs 365, amounting to Re 1 a day. Donations are utilized for the upkeep of the centre.
A year after that, sometime in the second half of 2011, realizing the need for a school for mentally challenged children in the region, Snehalaya thought of opening a special school, utilizing Bavdekars' house in Belgaum for the purpose. But when it tried to approach the Bavdekars in Mumbai, the NGO learnt that Gautam Bavdekar was no more. The man in his late fifties passed away on July 31, 2011, even before his dreams of serving the society by putting his house to good use came through.
However, the NGO did not have to return empty handed. Gautam's wife Neeta willingly abnegated the property in Belgaum and handed it over to the NGO, so that her husband's last wish was fulfilled. Thanks to her generous gesture, today, Bavdekars' spacious home in Belgaum has been converted into a special school named 'Sparsh,' providing training to several mentally disabled children, equipping them to lead a normal life like others and also face the challenges in the abliest societal system.
Sparsh School is a joint initiative by some parents of mentally challenged children and Snehalaya, the NGO. Though there were special schools for the blind, deaf and dumb in Belgaum city, there wasn't a full-fledged school for the mentally challenged. Established on July 31, 2012, on the death anniversary day of Gautam Bavdekar, Sparsh School is very well-equipped to fill the gap.
According to some estimates, there are nearly 800 mentally challenged children in Belgaum city. "Raising a child who is mentally challenged calls for emotional strength and flexibility on the part of parents. Mentally challenged children have special needs in addition to the regular needs of other children. Unfortunately, these children are still neglected in the society. Parents of normal children often do not allow their wards to play with mentally retarded children. We, at the school, aim at preparing the mentally retarded children to be self dependent for their day today needs and face the world outside," said Naresh Patil, a city-based builder and parent of a mentally challenged child. He, along with several others parents runs the school and the day care centre at Sparsh.
At Sparsh, children are trained in identifying colours and shapes, inculcating time sense, dressing sense, personal hygiene, eating habits, and so on. Class room training, yoga, speech therapy, physiotherapy, vocational training, excursions, picnics and several other extracurricular activities are part of the training.
One rupee a day
In the days to come, Sparsh plans to get more therapy specialists at the school. Also there are plans to open a special garden in the premises. They have started a fund raising scheme called 'A rupee a day', where donations are collected to the tune of Rs 365, amounting to Re 1 a day. Donations are utilized for the upkeep of the centre.
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