Support children and persons with Disabilities

SIVA Trust staff started focussed work for around 100 persons with disability in 4 villages in the working area of Melaneelithanallur and Manur blocks. Awareness meetings were conducted at 4 centres during the quarter on the services available to the persons with disability.

The staffs were engaged in getting the persons with disability the National Disability ID card, pension, aids & appliances, rail/bus pass and other Government schemes available, by interacting with the Tirunelveli District Differently abled Rehabilitation Officer. During the quarter, 8 persons got ID card and 4 persons got pass to travel in train/bus at concessional rate. Besides, 47 applications have been submitted seeking assistive devices, 18 seeking pension and 16 requesting rail/bus pass.

With the help of a doctor from nearby State of Kerala practising Homeopathy, homeo medical assistance was provided free of cost to 46 persons with disability in the area, including 3 children with intellectual disability, for various ailments. The follow up by the doctor is continuing every month and progress is visible in many cases.

One youth whose both legs got amputed during an accident was helped in getting artificial limbs. All these efforts were possible only with the generous donations given by the donors. 

The exclusive staff appointed for this project is working both in M.N. Nallur and Manur blocks of Tirunelveli district. She has identified and helped 96 persons with disability (PwD) in 11 villages and attending to their requirements. The District Differently-abled Rehabilitation Officer, Tirunelveli district is also encouraging the organisation to come up with the details of help needed by PwD in as many blocks as possible.

The staff has helped them in preparing application for monthly allowance of Rs.1500 from the Government for 16 PwD and pursuing the case with the concerned officials. She got the basic requirement of disability identity card to a mentally retarded 23 years-old woman and also to another physically challenged woman of 28 years age. She also helped 47 PwD in applying for assistive devices from the Government and pursuing those cases. She also applied on behalf of 11 PwD, for getting concessional fare in bus and train travel and got the permission for a physically challenged man of 52 years of age.

The Trust considered the request of a 17 years old local student of 11th standard, having low vision and helped him in procuring a suitable specs for him to continue his studies effectively. Another worth mentioning work done by the Trust was to help 27 years old youth of Devarkulam village with financial assistance of Rs.20,000 to re-start his small village shop. The youth has 3 sisters and one younger brother, who were all married and settled elsewhere. They were all originally living in Bombay, but after the death of his father 15 years back, the family shifted to their native village and started living in a Government-provided small group house. The youth is crippled in both legs and he can only crawl. With someone’s help, he opened a small shop in the village 7 years back for the family’s sustenance, but it had to be closed after some months. His mother started working as a help in a roadside hotel on a wage of $3 per day, from which she has to spend $1 for her to and fro bus trip. The youth was identified by the Trust staff to be an enthusiastic youth and the Trust decided to help him with financial assistance of $300 to re-start his small shop. It was formally inaugurated on December 3^rd ,the International Day of Disabled, after getting assurance from the villagers to help the youth come out of his poverty.