SANKALP-IN AID OF DEVELOPMENTALLY DISABLE CHILDREN

Dear Kind Hearts

Greetings from SANKALP team

New session for the year 2016-2017 began on 9^th June after the summer break. We had many requests for admission in the new session at the same time five old children left. We decided to maintain our strength to 45 children therefore; only five new children were admitted. This session has

Encouraging results of the pilot project for providing education through tabs/I Pad to the children led us to include this as a regular feature in our curriculum. These APPS helped in teaching autistic as well as other mentally/developmentally challenged children who are unable to speak but are able to respond through audio-visual stimulations. It increased child’s motivation to learn and was found useful even for children with profound disabilities. We are able to personalize lessons to child’s individual needs. Under this program we have appointed one new teacher and also assigned fulltime responsibility to another teacher for giving E Education to children. Initially 33 children are covered in the program but from next quarter 3 more will be added. We have purchased two tablets and need few more so that other teachers can also use them regularly. Taking a cue from the success of the tab based education; we wish to include more audio-visual lessons in the class room for larger group of children. For this purpose we need an overhead projector. Cost of each tabs & the projector is approx. $150 & $600 respectively. We look forward to our donors to help us buy them.

We have also added few more analyticals in our annual progress report of children this year which will indicate the reasons for low progress achieved by any child in any area of training or therapy and help us find the reasons and address them.   

A new set of uniform, a school bag & stationery has been distributed to the children free of cost. We have also tied up with L&T’s ladies welfare association for regular distribution of sanitary napkins to the girls throughout the year. Accordingly, 6 girls who needed them were distributed first 3 month’s supply and were also given a brief talk about maintaining necessary personal hygiene.   

The annual psychological assessment has already been completed to record the status with respect to the disability level and also to compare it with last year to check the progress for old children and also to design the IEP (Individual Education Plan) for each child for the current session. The IEPs have been completed and their progress targets to be achieved during the year have been fixed. Orthopedic checkup of three children who needed it has also been completed while Pediatric checkup for all children is fixed for 3^rd August followed by ENT, Dental & Ophthalmic checkups during August.

We at Sankalp believe that learning is a continuous process and everyone including our experts also needs to keep learning and update their domain knowledge. We therefore, always look forward to any such opportunities to interact with outside experts in the field for sharing their knowledge & experiences with our team. We came to know that a very senior and experienced person is visiting Vadodara in July. We got in touch with her and invited her at Sankalp during her stay at Vadodara. She was kind enough to accept our invitation and visited us on 19^th, 20^th and 24^th July.

She is Ms. Neeta Das, founder and president of Progressive Comprehensive Services LLC, New Jersey, USA. She has done Master's in social work and is a licensed clinical social worker there. She has over 36 years of experience working within the field of developmental disabilities. She facilitates and provides opportunities to individuals with developmental and mental disabilities with specific goal of helping them live meaningful, independent, and integrated lives in their communities. The services her agency provides are person centered and choice based, modeled after the principles of self-determination. She also runs a Center for Enhancing Abilities in New Jersey that provides individuals with a variety of opportunities and experiences in a small group setting that enriches their lives and prepares them for real life situations and employment. 

Ms. Das saw the facilities at Sankalp, interacted with our special educators and therapists. She conducted a workshop for our educators/therapists on 20^th July during which she shared with them her experiences of dealing with persons with disabilities in US and also gave some very useful tips on how to get the best out of children with special needs. She also participated in the parent counseling session which was organized on 24^th July and gave a motivational lecture as well as tips to the parents. She also took a question answer session at the end and clarified various concerns of the parents. Her guidance was very much liked and appreciated by parents, teachers and the management of Sankalp.

Let’s see what Ms. Das wrote in the visitor’s book of Sankalp:

“ To the team @ Sankalp.

It was a great privilege to visit your school/day program. I feel elated & proud knowing that these children are receiving excellent care and training. Meeting the staff was a great pleasure- there is such commitment and the compassion was coming through. I wish all of you the very best in every new endeavor you take on in future!

I’m leaving with tremendous pride in my heart having met all of you. Thank you. -  Neeta Das”

We are grateful to Ms. Neeta Das for sparing her time and experiences with team Sankalp and giving them valuable advice.

Observing positive improvements in the life of children at SANKALP and knowing that our working is being approved by outside experts motivates every member of our team and gives us confidence to do our best.

Until the next report a big THANK YOU for your support to our project. We assure you that YOU will be updated on what impact YOUR donation has made & what accomplishments we have achieved from time to time.

Photographs of various activities are being updated at our website www.mpctrust.org you can also follow us at Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/SankalpVadodara

Dear Kind Hearts

Greetings from team SANKALP.

Kids at Sankalp went for an educational field trip to India's Biggest & Leading Amul Dairy at Anand which is about 60 Kms from Vadodara on 19^th March where they witnessed the process of milk being received in tankers and then being converted into butter through various stages. Dairy officials were kind enough to explain the process and also treat the children with a bottle of cold milk. Each of the child loved the trip.

Children also participated in the sporting events organized by the State Government as well as many other organizations for children with special needs. Participation in such events not only gives them an opportunity to showcase their abilities but also helps boost their self-confidence and self-esteem. We feel proud to inform you that one of SANKALP’s child won 1^st prize in running, another child 2^nd prize in running in Khel Mahakumbh (a State level sports event) & another child won Rs. 5000/- in another game. One child also won 2^nd prizes in running at state level sports organized at Mehesana which is about 250 Km from Vadodara. Our children also participated in sports organized by other schools in that also he won 2 prizes in Long jump & Running. Another even was organized by DARSHAN Ladies welfare Association in this even 3 children won prizes.

Sankalp like last three years as a part of its practice of collaborating with other organizations as well as with the public through various events/awareness programs and also to provide an opportunity to the differently abled children of Vadodara to demonstrate their capabilities,an“INTER SCHOOL DRAWING COMPETITION FOR DIFFERENTLY ABLED CHILDREN”was organized on Friday, 11^th April. The competition was held in two groups of up-to 15 years & above 15 years.

20 different schools of Vadodara were invited to participate in the event. 125 children from 11 schools participated. Prizes consisting of Gold, Silver & bronze medals were awarded to the selected top three winners from each group. All participating children were also given participation certificate along with a gift hamper, snacks and cool Milk. While the results were being compiled by the judges, children were treated with a magic show.

This being the last quarter of the session 2015-16, progress report for each child at SANKALP during the entire year has been compiled to assess the progress made by children. We are happy to inform all our donors that as a result of getting properly planned & appropriate child specific program through carefully crafted methodology under professional guidance, all children have demonstrated progress in self-help, cognitive, communication, behavioral, gross motor skills and socialization in varying degree as per the observations made by our special educators/ therapists/parents. This is certainly empowering them towards leading significantly independent & a better quality life. The summary of progress is as follows:

Progress Summary for 15-16 at a glance

7 Children secured         >90% of the target fixed                                (against 1 in 14-15) 

16 Children secured       between  76-89% of the target fixed          (against 14 in 14-15)

12 Children secured       between  51-75% of the target fixed          (against 11 in 14-15) 

4 Children secured         between  41-50% of the target fixed           (against 6 in 14-15) 

6 Children secured          <40% of the target fixed                                (against 4 in 14-15)

Out of the 6 who scored below 40%, 5 had attended only for 2 quarters with less than 50% attendance while the remaining 1 also had an attendance of only 50% besides being a severe case.

Of the 4 who scored between 41-50%, 2 attended only for 2 quarters & other 2 are very severe case.

Second parent meet of this session was conducted on 24^th April to discuss the yearly progress of each child with their parent, provide professional guidance through our experts to them for their active participation in the rehabilitation process of their child, guiding them about taking care of children at home, explain Do’s & Don’ts and also to get feedback from them on their child’s progress.

This meet also had a guest speaker Dr. Vishakha Babaria a senior dentist who gave a talk on dental & oral hygiene, dos & don'ts and the correct method of brushing the teeth to all parents. The meet was very well appreciated by all parents who attended it.

Let’s read what the father of Eijaj has to say about Sankalp:

“After coming to Sankalp, Eijaj’s speech has improved; He is now ADL trained and goes to the toilet himself & wears the cloth by himself. There has been remarkable improvement in him.”

The session closed for summer vacation and we will reopen on 9^th June for the new session.

Once again a BIG THANK YOU for your continued support to our project. YOU will keep getting regular updates about the progress made by this project with the help of YOUR donation.

May I once again request YOU ALL to suggest me how WE can work together more closely as a proactive partner and attract wider participation on this project to bring smiles on the faces of intellectually & physically challenged children and their families and make this world a better place to live for everyone? I shall be keen to receive your suggestions.

Gratefully yours