Test Drive Santhome Mission Jun. 2014 | Page 22

For this purpose at present Sangli Mission Society has 6 centres for the training and rehabilitation of the Disabled. These are: Jeevdan Special School and Boarding, Zarap, Pratiksha Special School and Boarding, Vilwade, Anugraha Special School, Khed, Ashadeep Special school and Early Intervention Centre, Sangli, Shantinivas Respite home and Care centre for the severely disabled, Khutalwadi and CHERISH, Vocational Training and Rehabilitation centre, Nirmalgiri, Amberi. 1129 disabled children/ persons and their families benefit from our activities. Schools for the Differently Abled The Sangli Mission has 4 schools for the differently abled children. All the schools have trained staff, who serve with dedication and hard work in collaboration with the missionaries.. The special schools provide various facilities and training to the students for the socio-economic and cultural development, physiotherapy units, speech therapy, prevocational trainings, academic and cultural skill development programmes etc. In all our special schools, vocational skills like book binding, envelope making, chalk making, candle making, phenol and soap powder making etc., are taught so that they become economically independent Besides, students from the special schools are taken for exposure visits to religious places, railway stations, police stations, public gatherings etc. in order to improve their sociability. They are taken Such visits serve to motivate the general public as well and and are occasions to proclaim the values of the Kingdom. To improve the physical abilities of special children, sports events are conducted in every special school. Once a year all the disabled children in Sangli Mission are brought together for Special Olympics. Children from other special schools, not of Sangli Mission, too participate in such events. In every special school motivational programmes are conducted for parents. Service of resource persons from outside are availed for the same. Vocational Training and Rehabilitation centre At CHERISH Nirmalgiri, Amberi there is agro-based vocational training and rehabilitation centre. Those mentally challenged persons who have completed the age of 18 years are admitted here. Training different vocational skills, like organic farming, dairy farming, goat farming, poultry, vermi compost production etc., are given here. At present there are 40 trainees in the centre. Respite Home and Care Centre The respite home at Khutalwadi caters to the needs of the severely disabled children of the locality and provides care service. There are twelve children in the respite home Khutalwadi. Community Based Rehabilitation In 23 villages in Sangli District we have initiated community based rehabilitation of the disabled children. 1071 disabled persons have been identified in these villages. In every village there is a CBR centre. The infrastructure facilities for conducting the centre are provided by the Gram Panchayat. In Nandre village Gram Panchayt provided the land and the society constructed 22 SANTHOME MISSION