As a volunteer, I am meant to help the teacher and her assistant, sometimes helping with writing and learning, but generally making sure the children are paying attention and sitting in an orderly fashion. Which is not to understate the intense attention this requires.
Like all nursery classes, this one isn’t without its share of hyper, naughty kids, all vying for a chance to be heard. “Pussycat, Pussycat” soon degenerates into a giggling, shouting match, with most of the 17 voices reciting the rhyme in disparate waves.
At one level, it is easy enough to forget that some of the children are here not as a basic right but as a hard-won opportunity. A wheelchair tucked in the corner, a walker against the wall are reminders that the school is a haven of sorts. Here they paddle in the inflatable pool, learn geography and jump on the trampoline, knowing that they are, at some fundamental level, being looked after. Amazingly, no one seems to take this for granted, neither the children, nor the teachers, some of whom have had first-hand experience of raising—and losing—a child to debilitating disabilities. Back in Ms Tandel’s classroom, playtime is announced; the children are hustled into single file formation, nearly airborne with excitement. It is only now that the children’s disabilities become obvious—Irfan, unable to walk without assistance, is cradled in the arms of his helper. Safa, who cannot communicate properly, leads her classmates in a human chain around the jungle gym. Like the rest of their classmates, however, the two seem oblivious to their obstacles. Playtime isn’t over yet, and they have every intention of enjoying it before returning to their lessons.
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If you want to volunteer
Volunteering may be as simple as pitching in one day a week, looking after administrative tasks, or finding jobs for the school’s young graduates. “It doesn’t have to be hands on. We can use the benefit of someone’s talent or skill,” says Varsha Hooja, Adapt’s director of technical operations.
022-22186813
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Rs5,000 for this charity can
Sponsor a child. Primary and secondary school education for children costs Rs1,500-3,000 per month. The breakdown of the monthly Rs3,000 fee for nursery and kindergarten children is:
Tuition fees: Rs1,200
Therapy fees: Rs1,000
Co-curricular activities: Rs400
Extra-curricular activities: Rs400
An additional Rs2,500 per month will sponsor the vocational training of a child unable to participate in the academic curriculum
Donors can specify the use of the donation; for example, taking the children on a day outing to a public pool, paying for the printing costs of their brochures, or sponsoring transport fees, including the cost of petrol and driver’s salary
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People like us
Action for Ability Development and Inclusion (AADI), New Delhi
Money: Rs4,000 will sponsor one child per month, paying for therapy, education and transport. Donors can also pay for wheelchairs, canes, walkers and medical equipment, as well as caretakers’ salary, maintenance costs and vehicle repairs.