Support excluded kids with disabilities in India

Parents of disabled children in India have an extremely difficult time. They are often scorned in their villages by people who believe that they are being punished by god, and that they must have done something wrong to have a disabled child. This prejudice often happens even within families.

This social stigma, compunded by poverty and lack of access to services makes for a miserable existence for these parents.

The Bhalobasha project offers a lifeline to parents - offering not only practical support but also a different perspective. Here parents are educated about their child's condition, and are taught the truth about why their child may have been born with a disability, and how they can best look after and support their child as well as themselves.

Parents also gain a great deal from meeting each other and sharing their experiences with others who also have a disabled child. This reduces the sense of isolation they feel, and creates a sense of hope and purpose in their lives through solidarity.

I met with a group of mothers at the project when I visited recently. All of them were unanimous in their appreciation of the project and each one told me in their own way how things have changed for them since they got involved.

One mother told me - “When I first came here with my son, I was stopped by my family members many times and I used to have to lie to them to bring him to Bhalobasha. Now with the help and facilities from here, there have been remarkable changes in him, my son has started responding. My family too has now changed their outlook towards me and my son. They have started accepting my son, and I am extremely grateful to Bhalobasha for bringing changes in my him. This day care is now like a temple for me.”

Bhalobasha is changing the lives of many parents in desperate circumstances in rural West Bengal, creating a ray of hope and a sense of possibility when previously there was none.

Diya is 3 years old. She was born prematurely and went straight to the Intensive Care Unit after her birth. She had a lot of health problems as a baby, and the doctors identified that she had developmental delayed disabilities.  Diya was under medication for four months and was regularly in hospital. Her parents were advised to enrol her in a rehabilitation centre for children with disabilities. They visited various centres and fees were too high for them to afford. Her parents had lost hope that their daughter could ever be treated.

Another relative, living in a different village, came to hear about our daycare centre through an awareness-raising camp. She passed on Diya's name and the centre then contacted her parents to ask if they would like to enrol her. On their initial registration visit, they initially could not believe that all the services provided were free of cost.

Diya has now been at the centre for six months and is making great progress against her developmental milestones.  Speech therapy has helped her to improve the time, pitch and volume in her speech. Extensive physiotherapy has enabled her to improve her motor neurone skills. She can now pull herself upright, walk about a room with support, overcome simple obstacles and can walk up stairs unassisted.