DNA : oasis for the mentally disabled : Oct 26,2007

oasis for the mentally disabled
atmavishwas is one of the few centres that care for adult mentally challenged people, writes
rita ghose
the word ‘atmavishwas’ rightly speaks about the confidence that sybil dagama tries to bring in the mentally challenged individuals under her care. the organisation provides a place of learning especially for those mentally challenged and above the age of 18.
most young mentally challenged do not have place in special schools as the age limit is 18. in 2002, sybil, a bandra resident started taking care of a small group of mentally challenged students through the word of mouth. currently she has nine children under her wing and along with volunteers, she engages them in music, needle work, physical education and other interesting activities. the basic thing taught here is sticking and stitching. old cards are cut into shapes and cards, bookmarks, and gift tags are made out of them. they also decorate gift bags, telephone directories, photo frames and other articles as well as create designs on hand towels and other household articles by some really beautiful needlework on comb material or stem stitching.
savio, one of the special individuals plays guitar and bass. lori lopez, savio’s guitar tutor and an engineer by profession lends a hand to this extraordinary group of special individuals. he helps them learn songs and has even helped them obtain a keyboard. “he is always there like a guiding force,” says sybil. each of the individuals plays some instrument or the other. equipped with their shakers, scratchers, tambourine and vocal chords along with savio on the guitar, they create really jolly, upbeat songs that make the atmosphere melodious and cheering. one can not help but get inspired by these wonderful and special individuals who are able to express their talents.
schedule at atmavishwas
the day begins at 9.30 am with 20 minutes of physical education. value education is also a part of the daily routine and as a part of this each one takes a turn daily to pray for the others and their families. there are two breaks in the day one from 11 am to 11.15 am and the other from 1.30 pm to 2.30 pm where they stop all work and enjoy the break. on monday, they are involved with general sticking and stitching activities; on tuesday, they practice music with maria nazreth; on wednesday they are involved in the special craft of creating designs with the help of fingerprints and on friday maria nazreth comes along with her husband who helps with designs.
the schedule is simple but its not all work and no play. one can see all the individuals having a ball of a time and are all smiles. sybil says, “in vocational and special schools for the mentally challenged the students are made to keep quiet and find little space to express themselves. at home most parents are working and hardly get the time to converse with their children. i offer this kids an outlet where they can express themselves, learn different things and also have fun.”
samantha sequeria, who has bachelor’s degree in special education and is a volunteer who helps out daily told dna westcoast about her experience. she says, “it is lovely to be here. i actually look forward for a monday. i am extremely happy doing what i am doing. each individual can say what they feel over here, unlike other centres. here they also learn music which is really a fun experience.”
new venture
atmavishwas has also set up a home at verna, goa and at the moment they have started a boarding school where students come in on monday live and work till friday go back home on friday. the activities there include gardening, bead work, card making and painting.
“interaction at home is important. rain or storm, we are here because of my wonderful son, savio. savio is very much into music, so we decided to get all involved in it,” says sybil. she further says, “volunteers are ever ready to assist us whenever needed. we took the children for a movie recently. every month we take them for some outing or other.two of the children have joined shiamak davar’s institue for the performing arts. they attend classes twice a week. they have already finished one session of fifteen turns and have started the second session at the institute. what is important for these children, is acceptance. we want people to be aware of them and accept them as they are.”
a few of the children
raju went to normal school initially but couldn’t go beyond the fourth standard. he has a bit of a problem. his sister read about us on the internet. we wanted to train parents so that they could form groups in their areas. raju’s parents were not able to make it but parents are co-operative and interested.
zubeida has multiple disability. she is spastic with a mental handicap. zubeida does the most amazing needlework on honeycomb material. she is very persevering, though she cannot speak much but she uses sounds to sing. she cannot stand up yet touches her feet while sitting, along with the others.
brothers neville and savio have genetic problems. they are very helpful, hardworking and willing to do anything. neville is especially hard working while savio is just getting into the grind.
nikhil has a lovely smile. he had had convulsions as a child which caused brain damage. he is very quiet and needs to be prompted for everything. nikhil has recently started talking. he is a bit of a dreamer and the quietest of the lot, but also the sweetest one.
sybil can be contacted on sybildagama@yahoo.com or 26423550 and 65013930.
g_rita@dnaindia.net

Publication : DNA; Section : Westcost; Pg :4; Date : 26/10/07
URL : http://epaper.dnaindia.com/epapermain.aspx?orsup=Sup&queryed=33&querypage=4&boxid=30976050&parentid=50603&eddate=10/26/2007