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Slowly,
but steadily, the project that started in a rented house
in Salt Lake, Kolkata with three children in 1999 increased
to 9 children at the end of 2001, then moved to Gobindapur
in South 24 Parganas district in August 2002 to accommodate
more children and facilitate a better environment away
from the bustling city. The project includes residential
care for boys and girls, day care centre and a community
clinic. The residential care programme for boys is directly
supported by Banyan Trust while other components of
the project benefit indirectly.
Project components
Residential unit for girls
The construction
of a separate residential unit for girls with multiple
disabilities is complete. It can accommodate up to 20
girls for the next five years. Currently, five girls
are being looked after at the unit. Once these girls
settle down, more girls can be accommodated. The girls
are provided special education in the day care centre
and treatments such as speech therapy, physiotherapy,
and occupational therapy.
The three-roomed
well-furnished residential unit is fully utilised by
the girls, the inside verandah being a favourite spot
for playing, dancing, or music sessions.
Four of
the five have adapted well to Apanjan, while Anamika
the fifth girl is still struggling. She is deeply traumatised
and shows troubled behaviour.
Day
care centre
When OFFER was turned down by formal schools in Kolkata
when asked to provide admission to physically disabled
children, we did some re-thinking. We decided to provide
these children special education by appointing a special
educator at Apanjan. This took the shape of a full-fledged
day care centre with six special educators, physiotherapist,
speech therapist, music therapist, and helper who together
look after more than 70 children belonging to the local
community.
Banyan Trust
has been kind enough to organise a school bus to pick
up and drop the children. More than 100 children want
to join the day care centre, but we have not been able
to take them in because of limited space. But these
children and their families are regularly visited by
Apanjan’s education experts. They offer help and
professional advice to the parents of these children,
also making sure they are involved in the child’s
development. The assessment report is shared with parents
from time to time to inform them on the progress of
their child.
Community medical centre
The community
medical centre is a recent addition to the Apanjan project.
It aims to treat children not only from the residential
units but from the day care centre. The centre will
have a doctor, a sick bay with three beds, and limited
medicines to be sold at a nominal price. Equipment can
be set up only after installation of a transformer for
the campus. The doctor will visit the community five
days a week. OFFER plans to provide speech therapy,
physiotherapy, and occupational therapy to all children
covered by the community medical centre, even if they
don’t attend the day care centre.
Residential unit for boys
Fourteen
boys live at the boys’ wing of Apanjan, and 13
of them attend the day care centre. Each child’s
progress is monitored closely and the data recorded
and stored. This provides an overview of the change
in the child’s behaviour over time as a result
of treatment given to children.
But measuring
the progress of such children is difficult. Most of
the 14 children have profound mental retardation. But
steady progress has been observed in the rest who are
mildly retarded. While boys like Ajay are still not
capable of managing their own body, others help in sorting
vegetables, helping others eat, tidy clothes, and recognise
the time for meals.
The children’s
caregivers are mostly women rescued from red light areas.
They were either abandoned by their husbands or trafficked.
These women are referred to OFFER by other NGOs through
our network. Although they don’t get instant reactions
from the children, at Apanjan they live a life of dignity.
That they have immense importance in the running of
the project and can contribute to the progress of a
child gives them a sense of satisfaction and empowerment.
Banyan Trust
trains these volunteers from time to time. OFFER believes
that through the project, both the children and the
caregivers are equally benefited as this job is a form
of rehabilitation for the women, too.
Case Study
The officer-in-charge
of Dum Dum Railway Police found six-year-old Pathik
lying on the platform in December 2003. He was rescued
and placed before the Child Welfare Committee in Barasat,
24 Parganas North. The CWC handed over Pathik to OFFER
for rehabilitation.
Pathik suffers
from profound mental retardation. This is further complicated
with cerebral palsy and epilepsy. He cannot sit independently.
He can move his hands, legs, and head. He has suffered
repeated pneumonia attacks that have left him vulnerable
to frequent chest infection. In the last sis months,
he had to be hospitalised thrice and is presently being
fed feeding through tubes with regular nebulisation.
His condition deteriorates every day. |
