Chennai Workshop
ByStanding in the shade of a palm tree surrounded by a cluster of cream low buildings with flat roofs the doctor waved his welcome as our truck rolled in. Sanjay’s smile was warm and broad, his hands held in an aspect of prayer to say Namaskar. We were in rural Tamil Nadu, in the hinterland of Chennai, to visit the Community Rehabilitation Projects.
Resting with their babies, three mothers lay in the small clean maternity ward. After a few words with the tired mother Sanjay demonstrated the infant screening procedure he used to check newly born babies for developmental disabilities. We watched fascinated as the six hour old baby followed his hand movements, responded to his clicking fingers and made step movements as his feet were presented to the edge of the mattress. Sanjay explained that all babies in Tamil Nadu were screened like this. Any which showed signs of disability were followed up for therapy, treatment and later special education.
Deeper into the rural community we were introduced to Ben, A Buddhist monk from Burma who single handedly ran a small pagoda. Within its luscious green grounds shaded by broad leaf trees rehabilitation workers and local volunteers ran a therapy centre. Here children with cerebral palsy were treated and there was a sensory stimulus room for kids with autism. The great thing was that these children all went to the local schools as part of the whole community and could be helped in the therapy centre as part of their general education.
As we drove further from Chennai the villages became more sparse, the traffic hauled more by animals and the homes smaller and poorer. Following Sanjay up a lane between thatched huts we were warmly welcomed by a woman and her laughing daughter. Our arrival prompted the rest of the family to spill out of the house and offer polite and excited greetings. Sanjay had visited the family since the daughter was born to teach the mother to manipulate the girl’s limbs to ease the restrictions of her cerebral palsy. Pointing, the mother indicated the concrete chair outside the hut that her daughter once had to be supported in. Now she explained proudly her daughter could sit, unsupported in a normal plastic chair.
We were very impressed by the Community Rehabilitation work of the Spastics Society of Tamil Nadu. They were our hosts for a three day workshop on Volunteer Management we delivered in their school in Chennai. The workshop was opened by the traditional lighting of floating candles as a choir sang devotional songs. It was very moving. The delegates came from all over south India, from Kerala and Karnataka as well as Tamil Nadu.
Working in groups, to allow the delegates to speak in their local languages, the concepts, comments, observations and questions swooped and swirled. Being the directors of charities the delegates were intelligent, well educated and extremely knowledgeable. So the workshop was a stimulating experience generating many new ideas for us to take back to Delhi and for them to introduce at home. We were overwhelmed by the generosity of spirit on the closing day. One man had composed a song dedicated to the success of the workshop and others presented us with personal thank you cards and small bunches of flowers.
Sitting on an upturned fishing canoe on the beach, sipping ginger coffee from a local vendor and looking out over the evening waves rolling in from the Bay of Bengal we reflected on how much we liked Chennai and the people of the South.
Pictures of Community Rehabilitation Projects and Chennai Workshop
