There's something magical about Diwali - the riot of bright colors, the happy sounds, delicious smells, joyful expressions, and as was our experience – the wonderful warmth of kind sponsors!

To be honest, we were a tad anxious as the countdown to Diwali began especially as a long-standing donor was unable to fulfil their promises. But kindhearted sponsors came along to provide the food, new clothes and crackers that day, so that our children lacked for nothing. All received new clothes - jeans and shirts for the boys, and pattu pavadai with earrings, bangles, and necklaces for the girls. Even the bedridden children had their new clothes on that day!

By reaching out and showing genuine concern for abandoned children, these sponsors taught them what family is truly about.

Around 40 students from Justice Basheer Ahmed Sayeed (JBAS) College for Women camped at our home for two days, working with Prayatna’s youngsters and vocational instructors. They helped pack around 1500 packets of organic sugar for sale, and crafted around 350 beautiful greeting cards and 60 paper bags.

Around 50 students, 4 teachers and the Correspondent of Vivekananda Vidyalaya School arranged a two-day Bhajans program at our home. The children enjoyed the melodious devotional songs that were accompanied by the miruthangam. The students donated provisions to our home, and distributed sweets and snacks to the children.

Around 160 students from Good Shepherd School, Nungambakkam conducted a four-day vocational training program at Prayatna, making paper bags and greeting cards together with our children. It was a great interaction and learning experience for all concerned, and a wonderful opportunity for sensitisation.

Our vocational trainer, Kavitha, organized a “maida painting” training program, which was conducted by Mrs. Theresa.

Maida painting is a relatively new and innovative way to help fix colors and create great textures while printing. Our boys at Prayatna are learning to integrate maida painting in to excellently designed scribbling pads. They’ve just made a batch of 200 exquisite pads which will be on display at Pratibimb - an exhibition-cum-sale event in Mumbai to promote the socio-economic initiatives of the vulnerable sections of society.

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As a group, persons with intellectual disability have poorer health than the general population and a shorter life expectancy. They rely on the caregiver organisation to recognise their health needs, make appointments for them, and adequately advocate on their behalf. Complex physical, behavioural and social problems only add to their existing difficulties.

The Corporation of Chennai, Ambattur conducted a general medical camp at our home on November 23rd. The Corporation has decided to schedule monthly camps from now on, to help diagnose and treat seasonal infections and chronic disease. This is what we’ve been advocating all along, because it is crucial that government healthcare professionals try to truly understand the difficulties these children face from day to day, and be careful of the risk of diagnostic overshadowing (i.e. attributing symptoms to the underlying intellectual disability). It is important that they identify and treat medical conditions early on, to be able to manage chronic disease.

The massive damage that Cyclone Gaja has caused to villages in the Delta region is simply catastrophic! Over 1 lakh electric poles, 1000 transformers, 201 electricity substations, 5000 boats, thousands of cattle and birds, 18,000 hectares of coconut trees, and 56,000 hectares of crops and trees have been destroyed. Iyyappan had personally visited these areas to assess the people’s most critical needs. It’s been a week since he and a Relief Team (of school and college-going youngsters) camped out, distributing ration and rehabilitation kits to the most affected families.

The Relief Team focused on 18 areas in 3 Panchayats – namely Edaiyur, Pandi, and Melamarudhur (in Thiruthuraipoondi Taluk, Thiruvarur District). These areas were selected based on the extent of damage caused to homes and families. The team conducted surveys by speaking directly to the affected families about their most critical needs. Support was mobilised with the help of kind donors and 1585 families were provided ration and rehabilitation kits (consisting of 5 kgs of rice, ½ kg dhal, ½ kg oil, biscuits, tooth paste, candles, bed sheets, and mats. Tarpaulin sheets were provided to homes with damaged roofs).

The Relief Team’s approach was methodical and much appreciated by the village leaders. Click here for a quick roundup of this mission.