Ruadt Village Rehabilitation Therapy Centre

The project area is a very remote, and most of the peoples living with low income source. All the peoples were doing agriculture based activities. The peoples going daily labours working in nearby farms. The most of the forms are rain feed and working to Kerala State its border of our working area. Aged peoples were not working much more so, they were maintaining domestic animals like cow, goats and hens. Their food habits are mostly in taking of rice and other small grains.

The project Area located in south corner of the Tamil Nadu State Theni District is agriculture oriented. It is at the foot of the Western Ghats and most of the villages have no frequent transport facilities. In Theni District, the total population of persons with disabilities is 15, 605. This data was found on a survey that we did in the year 2002 with the support of other NGOs who also do the project of National Programme for Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (NPRPD).  In this data, 3,500 mentally challenged children with disability living in this dispute do not have education and other rehabilitation activities. The survey was conducted for the NPRPD programme (2002), with the aim of systematically generating reliable statistics of the actual numbers of disabled in the region, and raise awareness of available government schemes among communities. However, this programme targets school going differently-abled only, thus neglecting the needs of small children and adult.  Another programme for the differently-abled in Theni Block is the SSA (IED) Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan – Inclusive Education for differently-abled Children, Department of Education, Govt. Of Tamil Nadu This programme, too, focuses on children in the age group of 5 to 14 years, employing special educators to work with the school children.

Differently-abled children in the age group of 16 and above living in the area are not reached by any of the existing programmes. Moreover, government rehabilitation programme strategies and resources do not allow for immediate and sustainable. RUADT has conducted research based on case studies of differently-abled children in the 16 and above age group and their families.  As part of the research we also had discussions with the children’s parents and this revealed that they were worried and uncertain about the future of their children after their death. Their burden was because the differently-abled children who belonged to the age-group of 16 years and above did not have capacity or capability to be self-reliant. So we propose to provide a solution to provide vocational training to this age group which would help them to earn and live independently also adding to the family’s income in some way.

Since 1991 RUADT has implement several rehabilitation programmes for differently abled persons in Theni District of Tamil Nadu. In our experience lot of Adults, youths and children with impairments difficult to move the rehabilitation centre, because they were living in remote area so transport facilities is not frequently. In the year of 2008 our Board has been decided start the Mobile Therapy clinic till date It’s going well and good tremendous support from target group peoples and District administration.

In this connection Department of Health and District administration appreciate our work and providing rooms for the rehabilitation therapy centre in Rural Block health centers. Every day 30 to 40 persons getting treatment with free medication from the health centre. They were very happy and for getting cure from our therapy centre.

• VRTC Report (DOC)