Mid day Meals for Disabled Children

BALAJOTHI CENTRE FOR THE DISABLED

PROJECT ON MID-DAY MEALS FOR DISABLED CHILDREN  ( # 16999 )

REPORT DUE ON : APRIL 29, 2017

What is one of the most needed things for survival ?  Some might say ‘air’ or ‘water’ but without a doubt food is one of the basic necessities of life, be it for the rich or poor !  All of us are aware that without food eventually the person is reduced to the lowest level of survival.  The world is full of poor people while the minority enjoys and savors the joys of eating well.

Here at Balajothi one of our focal areas is to provide a nourishing and tasty meal to our special children on a daily basis. We use the meal time to train  children to eat in the proper way following the right etiquette –  prayer before meals, right posture, using fingers, using a spoon, using a napkin, holding a plate, drinking from a glass, using the straw to sip and suck, washing hands before and after the meal, using the napkin to dry the fingers, wiping the mouth, folding the napkin, leaving the table clean etc.  These activities appear to be trivial to a normal child but to train an intellectually challenged child it requires monumental patience and effort.  It takes a dedicated and committed caregiver to provide such a service and we do just that.  Over a period of time, some times even years, our children have been learning these skills slowly and are making progress, which is a great blessing to their families.  The difficulties of working with such children can only be truly experienced by the family members of such disabled children.  Balajothi has its share of parents who work with such children with great patience and understanding.  Even mastering a single activity such as lifting a cup of water by a child to sip amounts to a great achievement.

Balajothi is thankful to YOU for having made possible our efforts to provide a good meal to the  special children.  Every single dollar that you have contributed has been used to provide these meals and Balajothi once again thanks you from the bottom of our hearts for making this happen.  GlobalGiving have till date donated $ 5906.00 and we have spent the following amounts since the last report : January 2017  - Rs.11,940/-; February 2017 - Rs.10,020/- and March 2017 - Rs.9555/-.

One last word in parting : Every person who has donated for these meals is being remembered by our children in their daily prayer before meals.

End of Report.

J M Balaraj

Team Leader