In our service, we have continued to have lunch with the members of SUNDAC and continue to work on activities to help them develop their motor skills. Initially, it felt like we were not involved enough in helping the residents because the activities we would do were relatively simple. But we heard that our activities were actually making an impact on some of them.
Within a short while, all of us started having regular conversations with each individual, knowing that maybe they could not understand us, but we felt a deeper connection. Instead of just being with Murali, I got to interact with Shareefa and Jimmy who are completely different. Murali is very vocal and friendly, Jimmy, on the other hand, is very shy and Shareefa was not comfortable with us in the beginning. But soon they would be holding our hands and engaging in activities without much support from the SUNDAC supervisor. We also learned that after coming to us, Jimmy started speaking again after his father’s death. Murali loved having lunch with us so much that it would improve his behavior at the center just so he could come to see us.
We also saw the impact of bringing them into the school community had. Many people would wave at them, and some children were curious about what we were doing. I think this activity, although simple, has started to create a sense of familiarity with the differently-abled in our school community.
This has really inspired me to think beyond our service and about my GC which also supports the differently-abled. I think that bringing residents from our NGO could have a massive impact on the way the school community perceives Kahaani. (LO6+LO4)
