Bangalore's Helping hands for the spastics

Neglected by the society and largely left to fend for themselves, the spastic population in the city, till a few years back, was fighting a lost battle called life. Not so any more. With several organisations coming forward to working for them and spreading hope and happiness, everyday life is now worth living for.

Located at Malleswaram, Aruna Chetana School for Spastic and Disabled, is one such organisation that has donned the mantle of educating the spastic children and has been running a school for the spastic, mentally retarded and disabled children since the past few years. Part of the Sewa Project, the school has almost 30 per cent of its children coming from the economically-challenged section of the society. Aruna Chetana strives for holistic development of the child and therefore integrates yoga, physiotherapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, self-management, and domestic skills into the curriculum. It also encourages its students to take part in various state and national level sports competitions.

The Spastics Society of Karnataka located in Yelahanka is another outfit, committed to integrating children with disabilities into the mainstream society. Apart from supporting and educating spastic children, the organisation is also actively involved in creating awareness among people about prevention of disabilities such as cerebral palsy.

Spastics Society of Karnataka, Indiranagar, is dedicated to the welfare of persons with neuro-muscular disorders and developmental disabilities and voices concerns similar to the other two organisations. It, however, goes that extra mile to promote awareness in schools, colleges, offices and society in general, with the aim of creating a spastics-friendly society. It is also actively involved in disability prevention by networking with health workers, women and child-welfare units of the Government of Karnataka.

All these organisations encourage and seek active participation of the society in various projects that they undertake. Each of us can contribute our bit by taking part in a walkathon or buying a greeting card made by the students of these schools. And who knows it might even help us get over the everyday trivia that bogs down our lives. After all, what could be more enchanting than putting a smile back on a child’s face?