S P E C I A L

today's venue for SBA was a school for children with special needs...it was a small place with about 30 mentally slow kids...the school looked well equipped with all the necessary stuff, computer, exercise machines, lot of toys etc...they seemed to be well taken care of...not all the kids came from poor families...there was one whose both parents are doctors...we were a little surprised to know that...but again, looking at them and the amount of assistance they need, I don't think I should be judgmental...it is very easy for us to visit them for two hours, feel "great" about ourselves and frame an opinion about people...but to actually live with someone like this and taking care of him/her every second of their life is an altogether different matter...these kids are heavily dependent on others for their basic day to day activities...one boy in his teens stood there, struggling for minutes to tie his watch on the wrist - one of the volunteers eventually had to come to his rescue...there was a 23 year old girl who has this habit of scratching her mouth and face, down to the flesh...her hands are always tied behind her so that she doesn't hurt herself...we distributed some candies to them...many of the kids actually needed help to unwrap the candies for them...sometimes the need is not a testimony of their capability, it is probably their way of drawing others' attention towards themselves...but again, I don't think I know or understand enough to make a statement...a round of musical chair was played where the kids were supposed to round and round around chairs arranged in circular fashion, to the music...many kids had trouble moving in circles, forget stopping when the music goes off...

the program booklet of the school boasted of many programs though...they have exercises and programs to help the kids become more independent with their day to day activities and movements...they also have programs to train the kids on cooking and some other vocational skills...I couldn't help but wonder and admire the people who are actually taking care of these kids at the school.


backblipped for yesterday earlier this morning