PIRAVOM: It is the mandatory duty of a student to go to school every morning, but in Shanty’s case, it is different. She visits the house of students, where she teaches them. Shanty walks more than one kilometer daily through Periyappuram, one of the remotest village in the district to reach the tarpaulin-roofed house of Soumya, 13 and Sandhya, 9. Shanti visits their house every Wednesday to teach the differently - challenged siblings. She works as part of the programme of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan(SSA), which aims to provide home-based learning for persons with severe multiple and intellectual disabilities. Soumya and Sandhya, the daughters of Shankaran and Kumari from Chamakkalayil house, Periyappuram are unable to go to the school. Soumya suffers from hydrocephalus, a condition where she is paralysed below her waist. Sandhya too cannot walk and is visually and mentally challenged.Shankaran's earnings from rubber tapping is the sole income of the house. Soon after Soumya's birth, the family realised she had multiple disabilities. The couple believed that their second child would be normal. But the fate was similar and Sandhya too suffered from the same ailment. It made it impossible for their mother Kumari to go to work, for she had to take care of the children. The household was faced with severe financial troubles as they found it tough to meet their daily expenses.When the children grew older, the parents had an ardent wish to send their kids to school, like other normal students. But there were no schools catering to children with disabilities in the village. There were some that were run by social organisations of the place, but the heavy fees imposed by such schools made it impossible for the couple. The SSA started a Block Resource Centre (BRC) at the Onakkoor Government Upper Primary School in 2005. In 2010 they conducted a survey to find out children with multiple disabilities. The survey found that 12 students in the Piravom sub-district were suffering from various kinds of disabilities. The SSA started a mission to teach the students at their house itself. Inclusive Education Program was part of the programme which included Home Based Education. Integrated Education for Disabled Children (IEDC) trained teachers were appointed to teach the students, said Block Program Office K U Issac. Shanty is an IEDC trained teacher. She is quite pleased with the progress Sandhya and Soumya have made so far. “Soumya has now learned to count up to 100”, says a delighted Shanty. The SSA has also started physiotherapy centre at BRC to counsil the disabled children.
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