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Rehabilitation Center |
Inaugurated on 24th July 1993 by Bharat Ratna Shri.C.Subramaniam, the Center takes care
of the needs of the disabled boys and girls who are under our residential care. Known as
Sivanandha Block it serves as a multi-purpose hall used for giving physiotherapy to the
children, doing prayer, and also as a dining cum dormitory for the girls presently under the
residential care.
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Home for the disabled |
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This hall is a dormitory for the house mothers and kitchen for the home and was the first
Building in our Rehabilitation efforts for the Polio affected children. This Building was our
starting point in our dream to build a model Township for the Disabled and is known as
SPIC hall. This was inaugurated on 12th March 1994
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| The home caters to the needs for the residential care children up-to 50. In this home
deserving children from poor families are taken for complete care and boarding, lodging,
rehabilitation and education is given free of cost. |
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Children will be selected in 3-8 age groups from extremely poor families. Children with
greater disability will be given preferences. Children with no parent or one parent will be
considered for priority attention. The Rehabilitation is given in three stages namely 1)
Residential care stage 2) Day care stage and 3) Village Based Rehabitation stage. After
3-5 years of Residential care stage, the children will be promoted for Stage II Day
care stage of Rehabilitation..
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The outcome at the end of stage I of Rehabilitation is aimed at: |
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1)To make crawling and non-moving children walk with the help of calipers and crutches. 2) To make very severely handicapped children mobile and self reliant. 3) To acquaint the children with the modern toilet awareness 4) To impart Indian culture, its heritage and moral values of living. |
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The vacancies created on completion of the I stage of Rehabilitation will be filled up by new admissions. Thus, at any point of time, the number of children under our intensive care will be the total (of) children under the Residential care plus children promoted to II Stage of Rehabilitation. |
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Day care stage |
The children will be sent to their respective parents. They will be picked up every day through a planned transport and rehabilitation under our care. |
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The children will be: (ii) All the children will be given job oriented courses and imparted with Vocational skills. (iii) The children will be physically trained for using public transports, public utility services, movement under workshop conditions, dealing with office routines and using various modern amenities. (iv) Human values, community living, mutual brother-hood and pride in service will be inculcated in them. |
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Village Based Rehabilitation stage |
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V.B.R. I :- These children are is charged from our home for stage III rehabilitation. They will be studying in their own village by the arrangement made by our field workers. Their follow-up physiotherapy will be done at their own houses after training of their own families by our RHC team. They will be provided with educational expenses like school fees, books & notes, tuition, dress materials, and other rehabilitation facilities like caliper and medical treatment. |
V.B.R. II :-. These children are under our home care, for a few years. They have not been attending the school in their home village / town. If necessary and provided they are interested, they may be given some short time vocational training, for which school education is not a "must". |
Adjacent to the Sivananda Block, there is a physio-garden where facilities are provided for the children to make merry simultaneously helping them strengthen their limbs. |
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| Caliper making center | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The caliper making center is named after Mr.Gerhard Fischer and was inaugurated on 25th January 1996. |
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In the unit, we not only make calipers of light weight but also undertake repair work of PVC calipers which are light in weight and which have replaced the traditional heavy weight aluminum calipers.The Unit also supplies calipers against specific orders in addition to meeting its captive demand. The following statement brings into focus the functioning of this Unit. |
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During the 12 month period beginning from January 2001, the statement gives details of appliances manufactured and repair work undertaken.
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| Integrated Middle School |
Known as Siva Saraswathi Vidyalaya School (named after the parents of the Founder President S.Ramakrishnan) the School has two Blocks namely Dr.A.P.J.Abdulkalam Block for middle School Children and Sri Abinava Vidya Theertha Block for Primary School Children |
The school started with a humble beginning in 1991 has as on date a strength of 380 students of which 45 are physically challenged. The unique character of the school is that it is integrated in nature where the physically challenged mingle freely with the normal children. It is seen to be believed as to how both the groups go about their job and how the normal children help the disabled and how they exhibit understanding of the problem of the physically challenged. We advocate this example to be emulated. Since the school is situated in the campus itself and that too adjacent to the Home for the Disabled, there is no commuting problem, a good example of layout of different sections. |
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The school is recognized by the Govt. of Tamil Nadu but functions without Govt. aid. Where as the normal children are required to pay nominal fees the disabled are given free education. To help the students attend the classes, we provide transportation at nominal charge to the normal children and here again the disabled are afforded free commuting facilities to the school. The Daycare children who are those graduating from residential care also attend the Integrated school from nearby villages. |
| The school has besides trained staff, a physical instructor to impart physical education. There is a good playground for the students with an amusement park. |
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| Disabled Volunteers Quarters |
Inaugurated on 26th January 1996 the quarters houses disabled volunteers and the Founder President of Amar Seva Sangam Mr.S.Ramakrishnan and the Hony. Secretary Mr.S.Sankara raman. Both Mr.S.Ramakrishnan and Mr.S.Sankara Raman live with their spouses |
Recently one wing was added to the existing block, the inauguration of which was done on 7th July 2001 by Mrs.Sulochana Krishnamurthy, President, Handicare International, Canada. |
| Spastic Centre |
As on date there are 18 MR & CP (Mentally Retarded and Cerebral Palsy) children of different age groups (below the age of 15). The centre started in 1997 aims at rehabilitating MR & CP children to such an extent that they are trained to look after themselves with regard to their personal hygiene and food habits. The progress is necessarily slow but steady. For the strength of 18 children we have five teachers, for the children require intensive care |
The Centre being a Day Care Centre organizes to bring the children living on the outskirts of Amar Seva Sangam to the Centre by our own transport in such a way that the children reach the Centre by 10.30 a.m. during the week days and remain till 2.30 p.m. and dropped back by our own transport. The children are given free snacks and food and the parents of the children are given a nominal financial support of Rs.100/- per month to enable them take care of the immediate needs of their wards. |
Since the Institution's aim is to reach the needy at their doorsteps, we have opened a sub-Centre for MR & CP children (which has a strength of six children now) at a place called Elathur, which is just 8 kms from Amar Seva Sangam. |
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| Medical Testing Unit also known as Medical Evaluation Unit for the Disabled. |
| Funded by the Government of Japan, the Unit has state-of-the-art equipment donated by the Rotary Club of IOWA, USA. |
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| Special Cots for Spinal Cord injury patients Occupational Therapy Exercise Therapy Physiotherapy |
Occupational Therapy is meant for MR & CP children whereas exercise therapy is meant for locomotor injury patients, Orthopaedic patients and the general public. Physiotherapy facilities are made available to all the needy and charges collected from those who can afford to pay. |
The center on average gets 30 Persons With Disabilities every day The MTU conducts periodically Eye camps, CP & MR camps, Orthopedic camps and General Medical camps. |
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| Hostel for Disabled Trainees |
Funded by the Government of Japan, the hostel with five rooms meant for accommodating 25 trainees at any point of time. The trainees are of two types - those who pay for their stay and those who are accommodated free of charge – and they are given training in trades suitable to them in the Vocational Training Centres located adjacent to the Hostel.For more details visit our page on Disabled Youth Training Scheme and Post Acute Care center. The Hostel is specially built for wheel chair users with spacious common bath-cum-toilets-Western and Indian-easily accessible to the physically challenged. Since the Hostel is meant for trainees with spinal chord injuries as well, special provisions are made in the cots to make their mobility easier. |
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| Vocational Training Centres | ||||||||||
| A) Computer Training Center : | ||||||||||
Funded by the Industrial Development Bank of India and State Bank of India the center conducts the following Training in collaboration with State Government of Tamil Nadu with Tamil Nadu Polytechnic, Madurai: |
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| While the building was funded by Govt. of Japan, the Lab is equipped with computers supplied by IDBI and SBI | ||||||||||
The center trains not only the residents of the Institution, but also makes available the facilities for students from outside. The Integrated concept of making available the Training Programmes both for Disabled and Non-Disabled is followed to create an environment of equal opportunities and non-Discrimination. |
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| Indira Gandhi National Open University |
A Special Study Center was established in the year 2000 by Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), New Delhi for various advanced computer courses such as Certificate in Computing, Bachelor in Computer Application and Master in Computer Application. The strength as on date is more than 60 for all the IGNOU programmes. |
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| Spirulina Algae Cultivation |
Aided by IDBI, Spirulina cultivation is being done as a part of Vocational Training for the disabled. The project was started in 1996 gets Technical guidance from Dr.L.V.Venkatraman, Retd. Deputy Director, CFTRI, Mysore. Four of our staff were trained in preparation and maintenance of mother culture and harvesting and inoculation of the algae. Now we have 310 Sq mtr. area of tank construction devoted to growing and harvesting of this algae which is very rich in protein and considered the best natural nutritional supplement available to man-kind today. |
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| Typing Centre |
Funded by IDBI, this Vocational Training Centre gives training in conventional typing methods in both English and Tamil. Established in 1996 more than 330 students have benefited under our scheme of which, 125 were disabled, and as on date we have a total of 27 students, of which 22 are physically challenged. There are six English typewriters and equal number of Tamil typewriters. We find that this centre greatly helps computer students, for those who are well-versed in conventional typing are quite at ease with the computer keyboard. |
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| Notebook Making Unit | |
This is another Vocational Training Unit established in 1996 with the Aid from Industrial Credit and Investment Corporation of India (ICICI). The machinery include |
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| Ruling Machine Cutting Machine Stitching Machine Comb Binding Machine with other accessories. |
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| This Unit has the distinction of employing the physically challenged for all its activities. | |
| The Unit generally undertakes job works from the Govt. of Tamilnadu, papers being supplied by the Government. | |
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| Handicrafts Training Center |
As part of the Vocational Training Centre, Mr.Gerhard Fischer, Germany, funded this center in memory of his wife Mrs. Ann Fischer in the year 2000. |
The disabled youth trainees and rural people are given training in handicrafts like hand-knitting, cane work, plastic wire knitting and mouldings of flower pots. They are also taught tailoring. More than 54 persons both normal (20) and physically challenged (34) have benefited from this centre so far |
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| Prevention and early intervention Programme on childhood Disabilities. |
AMAR SEVA SANGAM, AYIKUDY - 627852 Tirunelveli District Programme (A network partner of SPASTN, Chennai) A chain-linked capacity-building programme in Early Intervention covering the District of Tirunelveli at Tamil Nadu. FOR : Village Health Nurses and ICDS Health Workers of Public Health Centres of Govt. Of Tamil Nadu and Integrated Child Programme of Govt. of Tamil Nadu, and Families of Young disabled Children. PURPOSE : To Transfer Skills for Prevention and Early Detection in Childhood Disabilities in the District of Tirunelveli,Tamil Nadu. STRATEGY : Interfacing, strengthening, empowering and merging into existing Government and Non Govt. infrastructures through the programme initiated by SPASTN, Chennai, under which our 2 deputed Trainers got trained. We are in the South Zone and our zonal Coordinator is M/s Helen Keller Society for the Blind, Madurai. BY : Networking Amar Seva Sangam with 471 numbers of VHNs & ANMs, 111 ICDS Workers and 1260 TINP Workers of Tirunelveli District by transfer of skills by our master trainers. |
| CONCEPT : |
The unrealised aim, of all concerned, is to reach young disabled village children in the rural and remote areas of India. Clearly, we do not have the wherewithal to establish a huge new infrastructure to serve this population, now or in the foreseeable future. The only alternative is to reach them through existing functionaries, who are in close touch with the communities as part of their current routine work, e.g. Village Health Nurses and ICDS Anganwadi Workers. In the strategy used by ID, these Government functionaries will be empowered through training in rehabilitation skills to do the following: 1 Create awareness about childhood disability ( as a preventive tool) 2 Change community behaviour on behalf of persons with disability (attitudinal change) 3 Transfer of skills to Screen and assess CWD in the 0-6 years population and train family members or other disabled persons in simple management techniques (through the grassroots level networking of Health & Welfare of the State Govt.) 4 Most importantly, - to include disabled persons, individually and in groups, to take on the responsibility for rehabilitation work in their communities. |
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