I Believe the Children Are Our Future

I took another day trip outside of Bangalore today, organized by the OWC. This time we went to a school for the "differently challenged." Shristi Special Academy has about 150 students, mostly from poorer villages outside of Bangalore, who are mentally and/or physically challenged and/or autistic. It took us about an hour to get out to the school but it didn't seem as rural as I had expected. We left the center of bustling Bangalore and drove out to areas that were still bustling, just on a smaller scale. There were lots of smaller shops and plenty of people roaming around doing their daily chores whether it be driving a cart pulled by an ox, digging up dirt and carrying it in a bowl on your head to be dumped somewhere, or just hanging out in front of a tea stall. It didn't feel like we were in some rural part of India but rather (quite accurately) on the outskirts of a city.

We did have to take a couple of "roads" in very poor condition as we got close but we pulled through empty fields into a clearing where there was one long, white building to the left and a smaller white building straight ahead. We were greeted by Rosie who invited the 15 (or so) of us into a tiny, dark office. We all squeezed in and Rosie introduced herself and gave a brief background on the place. They've been opened since 1995 and have grown from 10 students to 150. The ultimate goal is to either get the kids to a point where they can attend public school or help them with at least one skill that they can use for employment or just to live as normal a life as possible. The range of disabilities runs the gamut in terms of the actual disabilities to the severity of the disability. Rosie then told us the "program" for the day. This is very Indian. There usually seems to be a great deal of time spent discussing how the day will go. Rosie kept asking our OWC liason, Indra, when she should go over the "program for the day," from the moment we got out of our cars until the moment she finally got to discuss the program. We would have some "breakfast" and go to the Pre-Vocational room that OWC funds helped to build, then we would take a tour of the school and visit with the children, then the children would perform a show for us, then we'd have lunch. "Does this sound acceptable to all? Is this program good?"


After we assured Rosie it was fine, we headed to a large room where each corner was cluttered with stuff and tables and chairs in the middle. In one corner there were about 20-25 kids sitting at picnic benches putting what looked like plastic eggs in what looked like plastic egg cartons or they were threading shoe laces through wooden shapes or working on fitting plastic shapes together. In another corner there was a women and just a couple of girls sewing sequins on a blue piece of fabric, just in front of a table that was laid out with goods that the kids had made, available for purchase. These items included, canvass bags, candles, bracelets and temporary tattoos. However, we were never told how the children either made or contributed in making any of these goods. In another corner were shelves filled with what appeared to be mostly buckets of various sizes. In the forth corner was a door and a couple of book cases filled with books. We sat at the tables in the middle and had our breakfast that consisted of tomato and cheese sandwiches on white bread with some sort of mint chutney spread which tasted about as good as it sounds. We then got to socialize with the kids a little, most of whom were all too eager for the attention. I never did figure out the point of putting the plastic ovals in the cartons but the kids that were threading the shoelaces through shapes would eventually get good enough to sew or do some simple embroidery.

The corner with the buckets.

The blue fabric getting it's bling.


The kids working on the plastic eggs and shapes.


These two were both kept begging for me to take their picture but neither wanted to actually look into the camera.

The white ladies are suckers for cheap bags for a good cause.

After most of the goods on display had been bought, we were led out of that room into the main wing of the school. It was actually much better equipped than I would have thought. They had different rooms set up for speech therapy, physical therapy, rooms for sensory and motor training, rooms for older students and rooms for younger students. They have a licensed physical therapist on staff and plenty of teachers and tutors that seemed to work very well with the kids. We got to play with some of the kids but we were a big group and were clearly disrupting their normal routines. The youngest kids were probably 3 and the oldest had to have been at least 18. I befriended a girl with Downs Syndrome who might have been 6 or 7, who latched onto my hand and didn't want to let go. She was also probably, the only kid who did not want her picture taken. The rest were more than happy to pose.



We were then informed that there was going to be a change in the program. (Gasp!) We were going to eat before the big performance. So we went into the "cafeteria" and were served rice, peas and carrots in a yogurt type sauce, something with the consistency of cornmeal but the taste of paper and tiny fried flour balls with a spicy sauce that tasted like Kix cereal coated in a mild curry powder (that the Swedish women next to me raved over), and fruit salad in a yellow custard for dessert. I ate all the rice and enough of the rest to hopefully appear polite.

But after lunch was the real treat...a series of performances choreographed by four of the teachers that must have taken weeks to prepare. They had two TVs and a stereo hooked up in the cafeteria and as we were finishing our lunch, all the students, some in costume began the process of filing in and getting seated for the show. As you can imagine, getting 100 or so excited students, with disabilities, to sit and wait is not an easy task. But they sang songs (in Hindi) to keep them occupied and after another 15 minutes or so, the cafeteria was packed and stuffy and the kids were ready to get started. The first act to go was the younger kids who coupled up and danced the chicken dance. One couple just kind of stood staring at the crowd while another couple fought for the lead. The girl in the third couple, clearly was in charge and kept making her partner twirl her. He was more than happy to oblige. After they were finished, a group of three took the "stage," one girl and two boys. One of the boys was a teenager and almost stole the show, if not for the girl who might have been ten and kept right up with him. He must have taken his dance straight from a Bollywood music with all the attitude to go with it. He took his dancing very seriously and was very animated pumping his fists to the sky and working the crowd. He could've been the next Indian idol and clearly studies the likes of ShahRukh Kahn (King Kahn) - the King of Bollywood - very closely. After the first song, he remained on stage for a solo performance that he did with just as much enthusiasm as the first routine. At one point, one of the teachers who was coordinating the event, had a look of panic as he fell to the floor to do a mock push up. But he actually pulled it off quite well. When he was done a cast of 10 came to the front with props and the most elaborate costumes. Two boys were wearing blue capes. It was the blue fabric that was getting the sequins put on earlier that morning. Apparently they were peacocks. The props included cardboard drawings of palm trees and a house, each held up by eager participants. Another girl in a green, gold and crimson sari and a boy in a beaded vest and scarf tied around his head stood in front and danced. The peacocks swung their arms and the props, for the most part, remained upright. No one really explained the significance of the costumes or the props so I have to assume if we understood the words to the song, it would've all made sense.

The kids ate outside since we were eating in the cafeteria. They didn't seem to mind.


Getting ready for the performances. Not sure what the green cape was about...

Chicken dancers. The girl in blue was the one who demanded the twirling. This was taken before the music began.


This was the last dance with the props. The picture on the right is the "peacock."




Getting ready to mobilize.

All in all, a fun day. Not quite as inspirational as my day in the village with the women, but good to see another part of India. Like I said, the school was surprisingly well equipped with stationary bikes, exercise balls and mats, desks and lots of supplies for the kids to play with and use. The kids were happy to have visitors and again, had if it were closer, I'd consider trying to go regularly.

(The woman from the school close to our place who I have been in touch with, has yet to give me a day and time when I can come for a visit. She keeps assuring me that she does want/need the help and insists that she is just "extraordinarily busy." So, I'll keep emailing her and hopefully will get to go there soon.)