A young disabled child, just about five years old, sits in an awkward position at the table with a wooden support, but he has a smile on his face as he determinedly eats his food on his own. There are many children and adults who need emotional and physical support, but the sparkle in their eyes belies any sort of handicap. Try and try again! That seems the commendable motto of Prayatna, an organisation which takes care of mentally disabled children and adults. The centre was set up in October 1997 by a trio of special educators, Mridula Das, Radiya Gohil and Nafisa Khambatta, who have put their skills to maximum use at Prayatna, situated in Friends' Enclave, Mundhwa Road, Mundhwa.``Actually we have been thinking about it for the last four years,'' says Mridula, ``but we managed to start it only a year ago. We have grown, starting with eight children and now cater to 22 children and adults.'' The centre is indeed full of individuals with developmental disabilities, who are busily engaged in some activity or the other. The whole focus is on making the mentally or physically disabled people at the centre independent in every way. ``This is done by giving them vocational training and at the same time imparting self-help skills, daily living skills and functional academic skills,'' says Mridula. ``Grooming, self-care and social skills are very important.'' This includes feeding, toilette-training, cleanliness, basic communication, language and numbers, pre-writing knowledge and physical ability.Decorated colourfully, the little flat has a spacious kitchen where the inmates are taught survival cooking. A young disabled lady is busy with ladle in hand and a pretty apron tied round her waist. ``We want them to be functionally independent, so we teach all 14-plus members kitchen skills,'' says Radiya, who is busy supervising in the kitchen.Nafisa is, in the meanwhile, helping the screen-printing unit. Other individuals are busy with designing motifs and learning block printing in the card-making and wrapping paper unit. ``Our plan is to make the people capable of either starting something on their own with their parents' help or receiving employment. Maybe, in years to come, we can start an undertaking under Prayatna,'' she says optimistically.It is evident from the high calibre products that the metier of a majority of the disabled is toward fine arts. They imprint beautiful designs on hand-made paper which are converted into greeting cards, letter-pads and wrapping paper. The tie-n-dye napkins and table cloths are also exquisite creations, which are sold wherever they can find an outlet.``Of course there are children, who fall under the profound group who are never going to learn to be independent. These are the children with behavioural problems, who bite or hit or even hurt themselves. We can make life easier for them through behaviour modification,'' elaborates Mridula. Each child has a file, which is updated every six months and the goals are reviewed.A special room is reserved for the little orphans, who are mentally retarded coming from the Bhartiya Samaj Sewa Kendra. ``These are the children who will never get adopted and will remain homeless for life,'' says Mridula, pointing to the children who are grinning and shouting hello. The centre tries to give them a warm and caring atmosphere for the few hours that they are there. Prayatna does not have residential facilities, which they plan to have in the near future.Despite the eternal financial crunch which plagues institutions as these, the centre tries to raise funds through generous donors. Their rent and van, for instance, are sponsored, their cards and wrapping papers are sold regularly and well-wishers sponsor tuition fees, conveyance, materials, equipment and gifts. The children's needs are looked after, with the parents' involvement playing a significant role as well. Prayatna, which has dedicated itself to people with special needs, tries to create a caring environment which helps produce competent and confident adults. It may take them a few years to reach their goal but they are on the right track.
