Education India Project #24545

Support Abandoned Mentally Challenged Children

by Sri Arunodayam Charitable Trust

Support Abandoned Mentally Challenged Children

Project Report | Feb 13, 2017
Special Advocacy Program on World Disability Day

By Iyyappan Subramaniyan | Founder Managing Trustee

Dear Friends of Sri Arunodayam!

I hope all is well with you. I am happy to share this report. We commemorated International Day of Persons with Disabilities through Special Advocacy Programs.

To show our solidarity with persons with disabilities, we conducted awareness and advocacy programs that touched on key disability issues, mainly to try and create a paradigm shift in existing mind-sets concerning disability.

1. Released a short film on the rights of the differently abled We aired a short film with a powerful message, through YouTube and Facebook channels which went viral with over 90,000 views on FB alone! The special child and the elderly man in the film very skillfully emote an important message worth repeating: “the intellectually disabled don't have a choice about their condition, but we have the choice to accept them unconditionally!”

2. Awareness Rally at Marina Beach (Chennai City) Around 50 of our special children, caregivers and staff conducted an awareness Rally by the Labor Statue on Marina Beach from 3.30 pm to 5.00 pm. They carried bi-lingual placards (in Tamil and English) with key messages on the subject of mental retardation. Mrs. Sudha Ramalingam, a prominent Social Activist & Senior Advocate was our Chief Guest, and Actor Shanthanu Bhagyaraj was our Guest of Honor for this event.

3. Sri Arunodayam’s Credentials

The only way to get society to assume its responsibility towards the intellectually disabled is to consistently engage them in causes that expose them to crucial learnings and thinking on the subject. Simple awareness programs conducted in schools and colleges can help educate and shape young minds on the do’s and don’ts, so that they and their future offspring are spared much anguish and pain.

As an authority on Mental Retardation and a certified Government partner in the rehabilitation of abandoned mentally challenged children in Chennai for over 15 years, Sri Arunodayam has accumulated extensive research and experience in this field. For a society to be educated and sufficiently transformed there is a critical need for sustained awareness and that’s why Sri Arunodayam is widening its “societal transformation” programs to include such events.

Thank you so much for being a part of this nobile cause! We will together make a difference in the lives of differently of abled. Best wishes to everyone of you.

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Nov 18, 2016
Sri Arunodayam celebrates Children's Day!

By Althea DSylva | Manager - Communications & Resource Mobilization

Staff entertain the children1

Celebrating the joy of childhood!

“Children are like buds in a garden and should be carefully and lovingly nurtured, as they are the future of the nation and the citizens of tomorrow.” - Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s First Prime Minister

It’s a day we can never afford to forget at Sri Arunodayam – especially with 106 children in our midst! We decided to make it a day of celebration and fun, learning and healing. How we managed all that, you might ask. Here’s how.

Variety Entertainment Program – Staff entertain the Children!

This being their (children’s) day, we decided that a twist in the program would be most appropriate. Instead of the children doing the entertaining, the staff entertained them this time around through a variety program of song, dance and drama that were wildly funny but also carried good moral lessons for the children to learn. United Way Chennai CEO Mrs. Shyamala Ashok was our Chief Guest. The morning passed with much laughing and noise, music and dance.

Special Lunch – for a special day!

The children and staff were served a sumptuous meal topped with desserts like bread halva and ice-cream!

A visit to Premapuri – ‘healing the generations’ program

By around 3.00 pm we all trooped off in a chartered bus to Premapuri, an ashram for the abandoned aged at Thirumullaivoyal. The children and the old folk shared tea and snacks together and got along fine. We figured this would be an ideal opportunity to begin connecting these generations and letting them heal, together. We are really happy that this first connect was a success and we will be making the visit to Premapuri or having the grandparents over as a regular part of our ‘healing the generations’ program.

A visit to the beach – What better way to have fun!
Then, we took the children out to the beach and they went simply wild with joy. And we let them! There’s really nothing like the sun, sand and the inviting cool of the water to make anyone’s day! They played volleyball, ate pizza, and generally chilled out by the beach. That’s how Children’s Day celebrations culminated at Sri Arunodayam, and no one could have been happier than these little ones!

Staff entertain the children2

Children spending time with the aged1

Children spending time with the aged 2

At the beach1

At the beach2

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Nov 11, 2016
Founder Receives World of Children Award 2016

By Althea DSylva | Manager - Communications & Resource Mobilization

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