A palliative care project by the children, through the children, for the children, that is ‘Koodappirappinayi Koottu’.
The project launched at the Medical College Campus High School here on Saturday by Education Minister C. Ravindranath aims to inspire the children to deposit one rupee a day in a piggy bank kept at the school for a fund to help ailing children.
‘Koodappirappinayi Koottu’ is a project envisaged by ‘Disha’, the youth wing of ‘Solace’, a Thrissur-based palliative care organisation for children, that now has satellite centres in Kochi, Kozhikode, Palakkad and Malappuram.
Home care
‘Disha’ consists of a group of youngsters who undertake home care activities for ailing children.
‘Solace’ addresses the problem of the ailing children based on the notes taken by these volunteers.
“Interestingly, more than 85 per cent of the ‘Disha’ volunteers in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts are High School or Higher Secondary students,” according to Sheeba Ameer, secretary of Solace.
‘Solace’ views the involvement of children in home care as beneficial for both the students and beneficiaries.
“Children usually take care of someone of their own age in their neighbourhood.
This helps them understand the realities of life at a very tender age and learn not to take the facilities they have for granted as well as to control their wishes.
“The ailing children get a friend with whom they can share their problems freely,” Ms. Sheeba said, adding that the children were better at this task than the adult volunteers.
Project at 200 schools
‘Koodappirappinayi Koottu’, on the other hand, motivates every child to care for the less fortunate among them and eventually take part in home care activities, she added. The project will be implemented in as many as 200 schools in Kozhikode and Malappuram districts.
