This is a day we celebrate the wonder of the child. A child symbolizes all that is beautiful, innocent and true in us – an inner world that exists within, if we let it. Our lives are truly enriched by children. They touch our hearts and make us whole in ways that adults cannot.

And this is what we see each day at our home. Although abandoned, these children are so resilient, so forgiving, so ready to make a fresh start as they look up to us as their new role models. As much as Children’s Day is a day about celebrating them, we also take time to introspect whether we are living up to their expectations.

Instead of organizing a huge program this year, we decided to spend a little ‘one-on-one’ time with the children, letting them know we love them. A relatively quiet but special day of bonding through chatting, singing, playing, dancing, and enjoying fun games and sumptuous meals. We also screened their favourite movies and got them involved in a painting contest especially as they love expressing themselves through art.

Managing children with epilepsy and cerebral palsy
Dr. Kannan, our physiotherapist conducted special workshops for our caregivers on how to manage children with epilepsy and cerebral palsy.

He illustrated the principles of good positioning and handling, lifting, carrying, seating, approaches for communication and feeding, and stimulation strategies for everyday activities and play, based on an evaluation of each child’s condition. The children end up benefiting the most from such refresher courses, which is the aim of course!

Commemorating International Day of Persons with Disabilities

In yet another sporting event for differently abled and special children, conducted by the District Differently Abled Welfare Office (DDAWO) on the 25th November, our children bagged 3 prizes in the running event.

20 schools participated and we sent 10 children to represent Sri Arunodayam. They did us proud yet again bagging a gold, a silver, and a bronze medal. The DDAWO conducts this event each year to commemorate International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

A well-wisher comes forward to do the honors!

Last month we mentioned that we were celebrating each child’s birthday based on the date of his or her entry into our home. This is because we do not know their exact birth-days as they have been abandoned, and documentation provided at the time of entry merely fixes an approximate age.

Much to our delight, a well-wisher called in response to the write-up, telling us that she wanted to sponsor the children’s birthday gifts each month! And true to her word, she took the children’s names and brought each child beautiful gifts in November and December. Thank you dear friend! You’re spreading more happiness than you know, and this is our small way of thanking and appreciating your kind deed.

Shantha is an 11 year old little girl at our home with mild intellectual disability. She also lives with hydrocephalus – a condition in which there is an accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid in her brain causing increased pressure inside her skull.

Unable to care for her on account of poverty, her parents had surrendered her to the Government Cradle Baby Center in Dharmapuri District when she was a little child. She came to our home when she was 4.

Sustained special education and physiotherapy brought Shantha up to speed over the years, but more especially in the past year where her progress has been simply phenomenal! The role of the speech therapist was very critical in helping her express herself coherently. Around 6 months ago, Shantha passed a psychological evaluation that found her fit for mainstream education and she was enrolled in the 3rd grade at a Government school under the ‘inclusive learning’ program. Apparently, Shantha has a lot of hidden potential which needed some tapping into! In the past year she took up drawing, making small pieces of jewellery and painting colorful diyas.

As if this weren’t achievement enough, Shantha began to excel at classical Indian Bharatanatyam dance (which can be quite challenging for ‘normal’ children too!). We had introduced dance classes at the home less than a year ago and at first it didn’t appear that she would stick with it because of hyperactivity and body imbalance issues. But Shantha took us by surprise! Not only has she overcome her challenges but she is able to remember long and complex dance sequences and lyrics, and is well on her way to becoming a wonderful classical dancer who has made 6 public appearances already!

This is very exciting for us! A child written off by society but with a fighting chance to make it big one day! Thanks to her special educators, speech and physiotherapists, she is reaching her fullest potential!

Watch her dance here. Shantha also performed at our Special Mom Awards ceremony on May 14, 2017. You’ll find pictures of her and the rest of the troupe in the “Picture Gallery” section.

Sponsor a Child

If you are interested in making a difference in the life of a child like Shantha, please call our office and schedule a visit. There are 114 children like her whose lives can be infinitely transformed through the kindness of a dedicated sponsor. When you sponsor a child, you are sowing into a new life and there’s no telling just how abundant the harvest of blessings can be!