Asha Trust - Learning Centre for CP/MR Children

Project Brief: Learning center for cerebrally palsied and mentally retarded children
Project Type: Children with Disabilities (description)
Primary Focus: children with disabilities (description)

Secondary Focus: other

Area: Rural
Supporting Chapter Contact:
Chennai
Status: CURRENT
Project Steward: Ramanathan Subramanian
Co-Steward: Padmanava Sen
Project Partner(s): Bhaskar Venkateswaran
Project Address: Asha Trust - Learning Centre for CP/MR Children
First Floor, 85/2, Luz Avenue, Mylapore, Chennai 600004
Near Nageswara rao park
Chennai, Tamil Nadu 600004
Tel: 94444-04060
Stewarding Chapter: Chennai
Jul 2020ChennaiUSD 7253
Jul 2019BangaloreINR 300000
Jan 2019IrvineUSD 1909
Oct 2018ChennaiUSD 7572
Oct 2017IrvineUSD 10137

Total = $326871

This is continuation of a project that Asha has been supporting since 2008 - Hariksha People's Welfare Trust (https://ashanet.org/project/?pid=973).

Melmalayanur is a block of 55 panchayat villages in Gingee taluk of Villupuram district in TamilNadu, and borders Thiruvannamalai. Most of the people here work as agricultural laborers or coolies in construction industry in nearby big towns or some form of unskilled labor.

According to an SSA survey in 2005, there are about 100 children in the age groups of 3-16 who have cerebral palsy and other mental & developmental disabilities in this block alone. The policy adopted by the state government is to provide inclusive education to children with special needs. That is, such children are brought into regular government schools for mainstream education, and teachers in these schools are trained by special educators to handle them. The same special educators are expected to provide home-based care for children with severe disabilities. In Melmalayanur block, for example, only three SSA special educators are assigned to meet the needs of about 100 children which turns out to be far too less to provide any significant development.

This project aims at setting up a learning center in Avalurpet village to cater to children with severe disablities in and around this village. Most of these children currently don't go to any school and remain at home where the care they get is constrained by their families' economic situation and commitments. Trained special educators and caretakers will be employed in the school