Snehalaya Education Society

'An Abode Of Love'

Special School For The Cerebral Palsy And Multiple Disabled Children

Snehalaya is a project undertaken by the Missionaries of St. Francis de Sales of Pune Province in close collaboration with the Sisters of the Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King, exclusively for the Welfare and Rehabilitation of Children with Cerebral Palsy and multiple Disabilities. Snehalaya is managed by "Snehalaya Education Society" a registered public charitable Trust (Soc. Reg. No. Mahjarashtra/11028-96/Pune.Public Trust. Reg. No. F-11852/Pune)

Experience

Some people in society have difficulties that others do not have, for example in hearing, seeing, speaking, learning, or moving around as others do, showing strange behaviour, or with no sensation in the hands and legs. They cannot do everything on their own. What cannot be done by them has to be taught and done by others, and thus DISPEL THE DARKENESS OF DISABILITY.

Cerebral Palsy is a non-progressive, permanent disorder of movement and posture, resulting from some brain damage during ante-natal, post-natal period or at the time of birth.

Snehalaya was established in 1996 to reach out to such less fortunate, poor, rural, disabled children of society.

Objectives

To give equal opportunities to Cerebral Palsied and multiple Disabled children by giving accessibility to all facilities.

To run a Special school and residential institute for these children, staffed by specialized and professionally qualified personnel.

• To provide proper rehabilitation programmes for the disable.
• To provide guidance, counselling and emotional support to parents of these children.
• To create public awareness regarding the rights of the disabled.

Target Groups

Cerebral Palsied and Multiple Disabled Children who are educate-able and trainable within I.Q. range 40-70

Boys and girls in the age group of 5 - 17 years, of all caste, creed and community, especially rural, poor. Admissions are conducted in the month of June each year.

Facilities

1. Specialized Treatment: corrective surgeries, speech - therapy, I.Q. assessment tests, general health check up, orthoic and prosthetic treatment and allied treatment.
2. Physiotherapy: A residential physiotherapist attends to the daily exercises of each child to improve muscle power, balance, ROM, co-ordination, and muscle testing and charting. Calipers, braces, splints, walking- aides, improve the gait pattern (and make the children mobile and independent) and give amazing results in mobility and balance.
3. Occupational Therapy: enables the child to use his/her hands effectively and profitably and make it more functional. It also emphasizes independent performance in activities of daily life with improved brain-body co-ordination. Sports and games are encouraged through competitions.
4. Special Education: Special tools, skills, and methods such as Brereton, Directionality, Bingo, various discrimination methods are used to stimulate learning, memory, intelligence, etc. Integrated education, formal and non-formal, is provided at the Institute to equip children with reading, writing, and calculating and musical skills.
5. Pre-vocational and Vocational Training: Basic skills for income producing trades are given at the Institute, such as tailoring, embroidery, knitting, screen printing, textile designing, greeting cards making and candle making, depending on the aptitude, creativity, and capability of individual child.
6. Socio-Economic Rehabilitation: Snehalaya helps inmates to find job placement. Those with pre-vocational and vocational training will be given initial assistance to set up their own units of production cum sale, in order to earn their own living and lead a dignified life.
7. Rehabilitation Counselling: Counselling facility is available for children to overcome inferiority complex, behavioural patterns, develop personality and build up a positive self image, to get better incorporated in the family and society.

Recreation

For the wholesome development and progress of the disabled, complimentary facilities are provided, such as, indoor and outdoor games and sports, T.V., audio and video, outings and picnics, get-together and cultural programmes, nutritious diet, airy and spacious infra-structure, clean, green and eco-friendly surrounds.

You can Help

Snehalaya caters to poor, rural disabled children whose families are below poverty line and live from hand to mouth. They are unable to contribute finically. Snehalaya does not yet receive government grant/aid, and solely depends on donations and contributions from well wishers and benefactors, for all its financial requirements.

These less fortunate special children are very much part of the Society. Your generous contribution either in cash or in kind is requested for the maintenance of disabled children, their treatment, training, education, transportation, salaries of Staff, and daily activities. Kindly forward you cheques / D.D. in favour of "SNEHALAYA EDUCATION SOCIETY". Your help will not go unrewarded. Donations are entitled for exemption under 80G of income tax act.

Mermier Bal Ashram

JAN VIKAS SOCIETY

Jan Vikas Society is a Charitable Trust formed by the congregation of the Missionaries of St. Francis De Sales (MSFS), Pune Province, better known as the Fransalians. The Trust is registered under the Bombay Public Trust Act 1950 bearing registration number F-18867/ Mumbai. Its pioneering work commenced in 1996. JVS is the first organisation to care and rehabilitate street-children and rag pickers in Navi Mumbai. Fr. Francis Mulackel is the Secretary and Director of the projects undertaken by the Trust.

The Society aims not only at the welfare of the under-privileged children but also lays emphasis on identifying and developing the innate potentialities of each child and making them to stand on their own feet. Finally, as a grown up and self-sufficient citizen, the JVS reintegrates them into the normal human society.

Vision

Working with and for street children towards a better present and a brighter future in a more just equitable and humane society.

Mission

Rescue, Redress, Rehabilitation through Empowerment and Self- Reliance Generated by Awareness and Achievement Made Possible by Legal Assistance and Capacity Building In Co-ordination with Competent Authorities and Net-Working with Specialized Agencies.

Objectives

• To extend holistic care to the street children, rag- pickers and other less fortunate children, to substitute the familial environment they are deprived of.
• To impart formal and informal education to these and the children who are deprived of the right to education.
• To develop the minds and behaviour of the children to a state acceptable and supportive to the society.
• To empower the children through vocational training, capacity building, legal avoid and child rights education.
• To reintegrate the children with the society at large, making them independent, self-sufficient and responsible citizens

Beneficiaries

• The primary beneficiaries of the services offered by Jan Vikas Society are the street children who run away from their homes, from different parts and states of the Indian Sub-continent, due to their family and social crisis and mal-adjustment.
• The orphan children who have no one to heed to their basic needs and find a home to voice their wants and needs.
• Rag picking children who find their bread by searching for and selling the garbage the people throw away get basic child-rights fulfilled in their lives.
• There are also many slum children who live in inhuman conditions, which make them vulnerable to the many evil realities, get an opportunity for their integral development.
• The poorer sections of the society are benefited in many ways through the camps, campaigns, awareness programmes organised by the Society

Life Features

Coming from different parts of India, the children remain roofless and rootless. They venture into any odd jobs like polishing shoes, cleaning the vehicles, rag picking, begging, carrying head-loads, sweeping the trains, selling lemon and chilly combination to drive away evil spirits which the superstitious people are scared of and so on. It is a pity to see them sleep on the pavements, where insects crawl and the ground is covered with spit and stink of human waste. They eat, sleep and grow there. They get satisfied when their little earning is spent on watching movies, using drugs and narcotics like gutka, tobacco, cigarette, ganja, solutions.

Projects

With the purpose of ensuring a rightful place for these exploited children, the Society goes all-out with its process of reaching out and providing for the fulfilment of basic needs of such children. The Society effectively manages two rehabilitation centres and six day care centres in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

Rehabilitation Centres

1. Mermier Bal Ashram

The first of Jan Vikas Society's rehabilitation centre has a strength of forty children today who are attending various schools in Navi Mumbai or are trained in different professions. The centre provides for the holistic development of the children completely free of charge

2. Florin Bal Ashram

Commencing in March 2003 has completed two year of service to the dis-advantaged children. The number of inmates is twenty-seven today, who are attending school in Taloja.

3. Vaduz Bal Ashram

For the first time in 2005 Jan Vikas Society has started a centre of girl children in Panvel. The centre is assisted in management by the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph. With seven children responding to special care, there are many others waiting to be invited.

Day Care Centers

1. Mankurd Centre

Situated near the Mankurd Railway Station, has accessibility to many street children, rag pickers and platform children. Balwadi Classes, supportive education programmes, and tuition classes are regularly conducted for these poor children. The strength of the centre is fifty five children.

2. Turbhe Naka Centre

The Day Care centre is a new development of the year. The centre works for the development of children of the migrant workers. It helps the children by running a 'Balwadi' and support education programmes. The centre is attended by 46 children.

3. Indira Nagar Centre

The centre is located at the residential location of zari workers. It facilitates the attendance of the children of zari workers who are generally malnourished. Balwadi and tuition classes are regularly run and the daily attendance of the centre is eighty eight.

4. Turbhe-Store Centre

The centre reaches out to many children and people who need legal assistance through its legal aid cell. It also regularly conducts Kinder Garten School (Hindi), tuition classes and Supportive Education Classes. Daily ninety seven children attend the centre for various educational programmes.

5. Panvel Centre

The street children can easily approach the centre as it is situated near the railway station. The different educational programmes like tuition programmes and Balwadi help the children in their development. About seventy two children attend the centre.

6. Koparkhairane Village Centre

It has an attendance-strength of forty eight children who regularly improve through the supplementary education programmes and Kinder-Gartens run by the Society.

Life-Supporting Activities

a. Welfare

The three rehabilitation centres provide for the housing, nutritional care, clothing, medical care, education and entertainment of the children completely free of charge. Presently there are about sixty-seven such children availing theses services in the rehabilitation centres. 58 children attend schools and the remaining undergo various training. There is a "One Time Meal Programme" sponsored by Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust, through which about two hundred and fifty children are catered to. There is also an 'Ambulance Service' that helps in the medical and other care of the children. This facility is also used by other poor and destitute people.

b. Skill Formation

The Society offers various opportunities to find and choose various skills according to the aptitude and interest of the child. The various training possibilities offered during the year is as follows: Printing, File making, Bag Making, Electrician Training, Computer Software, Carpentry, Welding, Tailoring Karate Training, ITI Driving Detergent Making, Phenyl Making (White & Black)

c. Job Placement

The centre also tries to find out placement opportunities for the children as a nearest step to reintegrate them with the mainstream of society. So far 18 individual cases of placements have been completed.

d. Net working and Co-ordinating

Jan Vikas Society, in its efforts to mitigate the evils of child exploitation net works and co-operates with like minded NGOs and systems. The Society is a member of a forum, 'Co-ordination Committee for vulnerable Children', which is a network of 43 organisations engaged in the ensuring the rights of children. Networking also continues with many likeminded organizations such as ChildLine, SOSVA, Sevadhan, Ratna Nidhi, Indian Hilfswerk etc. It has theoretically and practically contributed its share in the establishments of child rights. The JVS always promoted and encouraged the involvement of like-minded individuals and their co-operation in running programmes for the children. The Society owes its gratitude to the congregation of Sisters helping in this cause: the Franciscan Sisters of St. Joseph, the Sisters of Franciscan Missionaries of Mary (fmm) and the Franciscan Missionaries of Christ the King (fmck).

e. Public Conscientization

Jan Vikas Society has continuously made efforts towards public awareness of the basic social issues of denying rights to the children through various means. Through its bulletin "Bal Spandan", the society has brought out many relevant issues relating to children especially on girl children. It has also used the media of national and local newspapers to conscientize the public about the issues and programmes for the children. Various newspapers have helped in carrying out this advocacy. The society put up stalls in three places during the year at various occasions and availed the opportunity to highlight the issues of street children to thousands of public and the youth. The cultural programmes and Bal Mela 2005 organised the commemoration of various national and cultural feasts which surely helped to bring the message of children's rights to many people.

Future Plan

1. Jan Vikas Society wishes to raise a school of its own to facilitate the education of these children who are otherwise scattered in different schools of Navi Mumbai. The realization of this goal will considerably help in the resolution of many problems associated with existing care.
2. Society also needs a Social Welfare Centre, where children can correct themselves, de-learn the bad habits and re-learn many good ones.

VAKIGHOL SOCIAL SERVICE SOCIETY (V.S.S.S.)

Transforming the aspirations of the people into a viable reality

V.S.S.S. is a people's participative movement for village / valley development. It is a registered trust transforming aspirations of the people of Vakighol into a viable reality. Giving attention to the neglected part of the society irrespective of ones caste, creed, religion or sex. The missionaries of St. Francis De Sales (M.S.F.S) established V.S.S.S in 1992 through the able leadership of Fr. Daiy Sebastian, M.S.F.S, to bring social justice to the people of Vakighol.

Vakighol (the Vaki valley) situated in the Sayadhari range of mountains in the Radhanagari taluka of Kolhapur district of the state of Maharashtra, comprises of 15 villages spread over 33,000 hectares of land of which 21,000 constitute forest area. The nearest link to the outside world is Kadgaon (14 kms. away) and the nearest town is Gargotti (27 kms. away) and the nearest railway station is Kolhapur (90 kms. away).

Mermier Ashraya Dahanu

The Community at Dahanu under the leadership of Prabhakar has been catering to the various needs of the Adivashis. At present they have 9 boys who are going to college. Tailoring classes are being held on the premises along with computer and spoken English classes. Bro. Bonnie keeps himself occupied by teaching Electricians course. We need to tap the various resources available for the tribals by writing projects and conducting various programmes. We need to look into the possibilities to collaborate with the other NGO's.