I work as a website coordinator and drama teacher at the Latika Roy Foundation. It is a resource centre for people with special needs. We have several projects like the Early Intervention Centre, the Karuna Vihar School for children with special needs, the College of Vocational Training for young adults with special needs, The awareness campaign, the resource centre (where i work!), the training centre and finally Latika Vihar an after school activity centre where i teach theatre. The article below is what i had written for our website when i first visited the Early Intervention Centre which was in St. Joseph's Academy at St Joseph's Academy. It is no longer there as the new management thought it had 'better' use of the space we occupied. I was quite annoyed at the news initially because LRF had a long and good association with them but then all's well that ends well. We found a pretty little place and I will be visiting it soon. Will put up those photographs as well. The children are absolutely adorable and you should make a trip down to Dehradun and come visit them.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Visiting the Early Intervention Center for the first time, I did not know what to expect. I knew that the Early Intervention Center is for young children with multiple disabilities and that the children and their parents come here to be trained by therapists, physicians and educators to help the children achieve their full potential. I had read all about it, but, the actual power of this place was something I wasn’t really prepared for.
Speaking just of the building itself, there is nothing intrusive or grand about it yet something makes you sit up and take notice. The moment you enter the gates, you feel a certain energy that is prevalent all around and of course the one thing you can not afford to miss is the amazing artwork that is all over the wall. A personal suggestion, stop and have a look, trust me it’s worth it!
After you admire the artwork and swing a little, its time to meet our resident doctor and a core member of the foundation, Dr Sebastian. The first thing you will notice about him is the ready smile and his calm demeanor, and then of course his Hindi! He can give a complex to any one of his with his fluent Hindi; in fact sometimes he is so particular about using the correct word that you may need a dictionary to understand him! The most important thing of course is his connection with the children; he is an absolute marvel with them. Leaving him to his work I decided to stroll a bit.
On the other end of the building is what I call the “Happy Room”, the moment you enter you smile. The huge rainbow with a colourful board under it makes you feel like you are in Wonderland. The energy here was difficult to ignore, there were special therapists and educators working with some children while others were running around playing. The children were having so much fun that for a moment I forgot what I was there for; I was just a little girl ready to play. But I was on a mission, I really thought it would be difficult to photograph this energetic bunch of kids, but was I in for a surprise! The instant the camera came out I had the world’s best models ready with their poses! 
Of course the one thing that I had to look for here was the box of balls that Jo had mentioned in her blog. This young lady here showed me the true magic of the box! All I can say is that, it is, as much fun as it seems.
Yes, I knew what the Early Intervention Center is, but what it truly is, and what it truly does was something that I experienced then and I still carry that with me, today. It is not just a center where experienced therapists, physicians and educators come together to help children in a mechanical way to achieve their full potential, it is a place where you see the true joy of learning, of having fun, of being a child with dreams no different from another, that is what the EIC really is; A place that embraces you for who you are and lets you grow, the way you want.
Speaking just of the building itself, there is nothing intrusive or grand about it yet something makes you sit up and take notice. The moment you enter the gates, you feel a certain energy that is prevalent all around and of course the one thing you can not afford to miss is the amazing artwork that is all over the wall. A personal suggestion, stop and have a look, trust me it’s worth it! After you admire the artwork and swing a little, its time to meet our resident doctor and a core member of the foundation, Dr Sebastian. The first thing you will notice about him is the ready smile and his calm demeanor, and then of course his Hindi! He can give a complex to any one of his with his fluent Hindi; in fact sometimes he is so particular about using the correct word that you may need a dictionary to understand him! The most important thing of course is his connection with the children; he is an absolute marvel with them. Leaving him to his work I decided to stroll a bit.On the other end of the building is what I call the “Happy Room”, the moment you enter you smile. The huge rainbow with a colourful board under it makes you feel like you are in Wonderland. The energy here was difficult to ignore, there were special therapists and educators working with some children while others were running around playing. The children were having so much fun that for a moment I forgot what I was there for; I was just a little girl ready to play. But I was on a mission, I really thought it would be difficult to photograph this energetic bunch of kids, but was I in for a surprise! The instant the camera came out I had the world’s best models ready with their poses! Of course the one thing that I had to look for here was the box of balls that Jo had mentioned in her blog. This young lady here showed me the true magic of the box! All I can say is that, it is, as much fun as it seems. Yes, I knew what the Early Intervention Center is, but what it truly is, and what it truly does was something that I experienced then and I still carry that with me, today. It is not just a center where experienced therapists, physicians and educators come together to help children in a mechanical way to achieve their full potential, it is a place where you see the true joy of learning, of having fun, of being a child with dreams no different from another, that is what the EIC really is; A place that embraces you for who you are and lets you grow, the way you want. 
No comments:
Post a Comment