A vocational training centre will be started in Srirangam to benefit differently-abled persons aged above 15 for ensuring a sustained empowerment and social inclusiveness for them all through their life.
Called Abhyasa Centre for Rehabilitation and Empowerment, it will be a joint effort by Kinchitkaram Trust and V-Excel Educational Trust and will cater to the needs of adults with special needs.
Sri Velukkudi Krishnan, founder of Kinchitkaram Trust, said that although Tiruchi and surrounding areas accounted for about 30 institutions working for people with special needs, most of them took care of the differently-abled persons only up to the age of 15.
“The Abhyasa Centre will ensure a sustained empowerment and rehabilitation for such adult persons – even well beyond the death of the parents,” he said.
Although the rehabilitation centre for the adults was available in metros, similar facility was not available in smaller cities such as Tiruchi. It has been planned to open similar centres in smaller towns in course of time, he said.
Vasudha Prakash, founder of V-Excel Educational Trust, said the rehabilitation would be individual-specific, regional-specific, and disability-specific.
“We do not want to impart stereotyped training such as making of areca leaf plates. We will impart important life skills to the adults,” she said.
They said that the centre would offer training on various activities such as yoga, sports, occupational, and physiotherapy.
Sri Velukkudi Krishnan said the Kinchitkaram Trust would provide adequate infrastructure such as building for running the centre and V-Excel Educational Trust would organise rehabilitation programmes.
The centre would be inaugurated at a private building in Srirangam on October 22 and application forms would be issued at Ranga Bhavana Marriage Hall on Puli Mandapam Road, Srirangam, from October 8.
Interested persons may call 9094788135 or 9500694622 for details.
Special school managements welcome
At an interactive session later, a number of directors and trustees of various special schools in and around Tiruchi, said that the centre for differently-abled adults was a felt-need.
“We take care of children only at the intervention period between 3 and 15. Although we impart some vocational skills, the adults, who stay at their homes, turn inactive posing a grave concern for their parents,” said K. Geetha, Director of Pravaag, a special school here.
An interaction with a few differently-abled children was held in which the skills of each and every child was ascertained.
