"The love of a family is life’s greatest blessing.”- Eva Burroughs

They say that strong and resilient relationships start at home. When children are raised in a healthy and loving family environment, they possess strong values and are secure in their identity. They in turn grow up to raise strong families, influencing their society.

We are made for relationships, yet family relationships can often be challenging in the daily pressures of life. Yet, we must do the hard work of nurturing these relationships, for few joys compare to a close-knit family!

At Sri Arunodayam, we do what most families do – nurture our children in the best way we know how. It’s not easy when you have 120 of them, but what a joy when we are pulling in the same direction and reaching a common goal! Here’s a round-up of what keeps our family busy!

Welcoming new members

Over the past months, we welcomed seven little ones - 5-year-old Shivavisagan, 6-month-old Shivani, 3-month-old Meraklin, 6-year-old Lavanya, 2-year-old Srivarshan, 2-year-old Archith, and 11-year-old Ajaykumar. They’ve been medically screened and treated, received their mandatory vaccinations, put on healthy customized meal plans, placed under the care of our in-house medical team, introduced to their doting caregivers, and well on their way to overcoming malnutrition and other issues!

Nurture through nourishment and necessities

Over 120 children receive nutritious meals 3x/day with calcium-rich milk, dates and fruits at snack time. Twice a week they have eggs, twice a month non-vegetarian meals, and an assortment of vegetable soups and fruit juices in summer to keep them hydrated and nourished. On festive days, they are served special non-vegetarian meals for lunch, including the famous ‘biryani’. As we make it a point to celebrate festivals across religions, the children have a wonderful time enjoying frequent special meals! Food is hygienically prepared in a centralized kitchen and our management conducts frequent cleanliness and quality checks.

Children also receive new clothing 4 to 5 times a year, provided on their birthdays, at major festivals, and when participating in programs outside our home.

Nurture through timely medical care

42 children receive medication for fits, 52 children receive psychiatric medications, and 45 children use diapers. All children receive vitamins and health drinks including soups, fruit juices, and milk. All receive mandatory vaccinations and the oral polio vaccine (OPV) is given in multiple doses to provide full protection. We signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with a medical college in Chennai to provide free health services for our children (read about it here). We also hosted dermatology, dental, ENT, ophthalmology, cardiology ECG, and general health medical camps in recent times, and introduced a new mental health program known as “Me Time” (read about it here). The program encourages children and staff to schedule free individual, private sessions with our Counselor, providing them with a safe space to freely express their feelings, work through difficult emotions, and tap into their inner reservoirs.

Nurture through physiotherapy and rehabilitation

49 girls and boys receive physiotherapy every day. Each child receives approximately 30 minutes of therapy and some receive therapy for around an hour depending on the degree of disability. We provide various types of physiotherapy, including chest physio, electrical stimulation, gait training, knee joint flexion and extension, quadriceps strengthening, and more. Bedridden children become mobile with the help of CP chairs which strengthens their hips and lower limbs. This program has been successful in helping children manage pain through heat and cold therapy, massage, and stretching; improve movement and range of motion/flexibility, improve posture/rebalance the body, improve psychological health, reduce dependence on prescription medication, and maintain healthy weight by reducing fat build-up.

Nurture through expanding the mind

Our teaching approach uses an assortment of audio, visual, and sensory aids, within and outside the classroom. We use sensory integration therapy to help children concurrently learn to use all their senses. This has improved challenging and repetitive behavior often related to difficulties in processing sensory information. 46 children (26 boys and 20 girls) attend daily special education classes. Additionally, 16 children (8 boys and 8 girls) have been mainstreamed in Government schools across Class I, Class V, Class VII, and Class IX. Four girls passed out of the National Institute of Open Learning (NIOS). Special education helps them relate more easily and hold intelligent conversations, be less distracted and better focused, meet their quarterly development goals more easily, reduce absenteeism, experience better health and wellbeing with lower behavioral problems, and improve learning/memory skills, social/communication skills, and self-confidence.

Nurture through creativity and career development

41 youngsters (31 boys and 10 girls) are learning tailoring, wire basket weaving, dairy farming, diya painting, and attending work-in-place programs, according to their aptitude. We employ a multi-disciplinary team of medical care specialists, pediatricians, psychologists, caregivers, teachers, physiotherapists, and vocational trainers to provide these youngsters with a wholly integrated rehabilitation program that provides the solid foundation they need to become more actively engaged in society. Through skills training programs they remain emotionally regulated with less hyperactivity problems. With increased concentration at work they’ve become specialists in their fields. They understand the value of their work and are able to participate in decision-making. They are also gainfully employed and able to earn from the products they create. The group bagged several large orders from schools, colleges, and corporations (check out their new line of bags here).

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Sri Arunodayam is a secular organization with zero tolerance for discrimination against children regardless of caste, creed, race, ethnicity, disability, or gender.

These children are the wards of the Government of India and their identities are recognized and protected. Using their pictures without permission from Sri Arunodayam Charitable Trust is a punishable offense.