S.S. Jayalakshmi is a bundle of energy. But, when the 78-year-old educationist meets her ‘special' pupils, the grandmother in her comes to the fore. A tender word of encouragement here, a gentle pat there — in five minutes, she has their full attention.
This trait is what has held Jayalakshmi, founder of the Vidya Vikasini group of institutions, in good stead over the years. Especially because she dared to dream at a time when awareness about the differently abled was abysmally low.
Her journey is fascinating. She opted out of school after SSLC, and learnt tailoring and Hindi before getting married at 18. She travelled across small towns with her husband, who was posted in the Railways. “Three children later, I decided it was time to put down roots in a city,” she says. She chose Coimbatore, her hometown.
Since Jayalakshmi loved children and music, she started a pre-school, teaching children in a play-way method even as she kept an eye on lunch bubbling away in the kitchen.
In pursuit of education
Soon, she joined Avinashilingam University's new nursery school. A Ford Foundation scholarship gave her the chance to take up a four-year integrated programme in child development at M.S. University, Baroda, even as she continued being a full-time mother. “At one stage, I would head to college along with my grown-up daughter, while my sons went to school,” she recalls.
The stint at university opened her eyes to a world where education could be made fun. That's what she tried to implement back home. From Avinashilingam University she moved on to start the Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan nursery school.
On Children's Day, 1973, she struck out on her own with Vidya Vikasini nursery school. She set up schools in R.S. Puram and Sivananda Colony before she was consumed by the idea of taking education to rural areas. “I wanted to give kids there a chance to be in the spotlight,” she says.
And so, Jayalakshmi shifted to Thudiyalur, then still largely made up of corn fields, tamarind trees and farm houses.
The locals (most of whom were illiterate) realised she was working for their kids' betterment, and joined hands with her, helping clear a path through fields for a rudimentary jeep to trundle through the fields, bringing children to school, and a new future, as she puts it.
Inspired by a child in her school with a borderline disorder, Jayalakshmi decided to branch out and teach children with special needs and regular children under one roof. Children in greater need of help went to the Vidya Vikasini Opportunity School (started in 1981) before they were integrated.
She expected some parents to protest, but her wards helped remove any misgivings. “And they adapted beautifully to the new set-up, accepting their differently abled classmates for what they were and acknowledging their abilities,” she says.
Integrating well
The initial days were not easy. But Jayalakshmi and her group of teachers persisted. “Our differently abled children were taught to take responsibility, and their wishes were respected,” she says.
Today, they hold centre stage at functions and escort guests to their seats. “The smile on their faces is reward enough,” says Jayalakshmi.
Not only does the school teach the children a vocation, it also gives them a chance to practise it and earn a livelihood. A former student, Sharada, now teaches there. Some have married and moved on, learning to lead independent lives.
The Society runs the Adult Home for Persons with Disabilities, with State Government aid, in nearby VSK Nagar. Here, the inmates — 25 boys and 25 girls — manufacture notebooks and arecanut sheath plates and cups, make popcorn and bake cakes, puffs, buns and biscuits for the school canteen.
At the home, housing rural children from as far away as Dharmapuri, an enthusiastic Shankar runs up and explains how they operate the mixer, the cutter and the oven.
“Days after they come here, their attitude changes. There's so much more clarity in their eyes,” she says. “You know, a boy here plays the mridangam so well. His instrument? A broken plastic bucket! We even had him perform on stage,” beams Jayalakshmi.
All these years of working in the field of special needs has left Jayalakshmi deeply contented. “Time was when these children used to be tied up in cattle sheds. Now, there's so much more awareness. We can intervene early and use remedial therapies,” she says.
Her eyes mist over when she talks about some of her special children who have passed on.
A child with terminal breast cancer insisted that her teacher in the opportunity school, Shantamani Miss, stay with her during the surgery and afterward.
“She did not even want her mother. That is the kind of bond these children forge, and that is why we must do everything possible to allow them a shot at life.”
ALL FOR A CAUSE
The Vidya Vikasini Society works closely with the Government and the community to ensure care for the differently-abled reaches all. It is part of the Swarnjayanti Gram Swarojgar Yojana, the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, the National Trust, and other organisations.
The society runs an early intervention centre for children from 0 to six years, with the aid of the State Government, and handles 50 children.
It also runs Samarth, a hostel for people with disabilities, at Narasimanaickenpalayam, with Central Government aid.
As part of its community outreach programmes, it runs a mobile Rural Intervention Centre. A physiotherapist and nurse fan out to areas such as Vadavalli and Thondamuthur to identify and help children with special needs.
If you want to help with cash donations and provisions, call 0422-2644819.
