Project Brief:
Project Type: Children with Disabilities (description)
Primary Focus: other (description)

Secondary Focus: other

Area: Tribal
Supporting Chapter Contact:
Kansas City

Status: CLOSED - ENDED
Project Steward: Radhakrishna Velagapudi
Project Partner(s): Ravindra Babu
Project Address: Kiranam Organization for the disabled in AP - Ashayam
H.No: 42-93/2, Plot No. 245,
Jawahar Nagar Colony
Moula-Ali, Hyderabad, Telangana
Tel: 040 27142025
Stewarding Chapter: Kansas City

Mentally retarded children can be trained and educated to make them sustain on their own and even succeed in gainful employment. Ashayam’s primary focus is to identify children with disabilities especially from poor families and train them. The society has started with only two children and now is providing training to 30 children. In addition to providing training to disabled children the society educates the parents of the disabled children and makes them aware of the possible opportunities. Parents who have lost hope or who were not aware of any such opportunities are able to recognize the potential of their children. Ashayam has conducted 5 awareness camps in the colonies of Moula-Ali, Hyderabad and also visited the homes of disabled children to counsel their parents.
Mrs. Lakshmi Kumari, founder of this society was inspired by the National Institute of Mentally Handicapped and joined with the mobile team in 2002 and started the voluntary service. She rendered service to children and conducted counseling service for the parents of mentally retarded children. She has continued her service independently for the welfare of mentally challenged children in Moula-ali area of Hyderabad. She has real empathy and dedication toward these children as one of her own child needed such education.
One of the immediate needs of the society is to have the financial support to hire specially trained teachers to help the mental growth and awareness of the children. The ideal student teacher ratio for disabled children is 6 to 1. Due lack of sufficient funds, Mrs. Lakshmi Kumari is trying to fill the gap with the help of other volunteers who are not formally trained.

Asha will be fund the salary for teachers with Diploma in Mentally Retarded, special BEd