Firstly Merry Christmas to all 🙂
Have been busy with office work lately. But last week was something for which I wanted to take some time and write about it. It was my friend’s birthday and we thought of spending it differently this time. We visited Swanthana, a home for mentally challenged female children. It was a truly touching experience.
The NGO is a bit away from the city and we had a bit of difficulty in reaching there. Only after reaching there, we realized why it was so far from the city. It was like a different world in itself. A world away from the din and bustle, pride and prejudices of the mechanical world.
Once we reached there, we were welcomed by a smiling sister, who was with us all through. There were 45 kids in the Home, all of them mentally challenged and physically challenged. Only two of the kids could talk. Rest of the kids couldn’t even talk, most them cannot walk or move. Each of the kids had their own beds which were covered from all sides to avoid them from falling down.
There were kids of all ages from 2 years to 14 years. All of them were treated with so much love and care. Since the kids cannot communicate anything, the sisters show constant care in identifying their needs and fulfilling them. It was amazing to see the dedication of the sisters. There were two kids who could talk, Ammu and Achu…both of them are darlings…They are so bright and active. Ammu will be around 7 to years old.. She speaks and understands English so well. She has this innocent smile on her face always, which cam make anyone forget all their worries. We spoke to Ammu for a long time. The sister told us that Ammu was found thrown away at the back of some hospital. She has her lower part of the body dysfunctional and a bent spine. All the kids in the Home were found abandoned in hospitals and public places. We were touched to tears after listening to their stories. But there was this innocent smile on each of the faces unaware of the pain and suffering, which was priceless.
The next time when we visited the Home , to our surprise, the kids instantly recognized us. They smiled at us, waived to us and some kids came and shook our hands too. It was an amazing feeling.The Home needs lot of funds for the medical care of the children. They have physiotherapy sessions everyday for all the kids. They are also short of staff to take care of the children.
I know many of friends who are skeptical to donate money to the NGOs, as they are not sure if the money will be used in a right way. In that case, we can visit the NGO and once we are convinced, we can donate.
The amount we donate would not be a large sum for us, it can be the expense of one shopping trip or one fun trip or one party thrown to friends. But this small act of kindness would go a long way in brightening someone’s life.
You can visit this link to learn more about Swanthana : http://www.swanthanacare.org/category/swanthana-care/ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pSGfZM4V27s
Photos taken from : http://blog.koppole.in/2010/02/swantana.html