|
|
| A worthwhile project |
| Madhuram Narayanan Centre focuses on disability
prevention |
| One of the highlights of the project
on Nutrition and Child Practices, executed by the Madhuram
Narayanan Centre for Exceptional Children (MNC) during
2001–2002 was a five day camp at Chennai for 30 children
from Ramanathapuram district—a backward district of Tamil
Nadu—where poverty is rampant and disabilities, particularly
among children of six years and below, are widespread.
|
| The best of medical specialists and
other professionals spent valuable time with the children
with multiple disabilities, and counselled their parents
on the care and management of their disabilities. Malnutrition
being the underlying cause, the thrust of the project
was in creating an awareness among the adult population,
of the right nutrition practices using available resources
that would be most beneficial to their children. |
|
 |
| S Vijayakumar, IAS, District Collector,
presiding over the wrap up camp of the Nutrition and Child
Care Practices Programme. Seated second from right is
Mrs Jaya Krishnaswamy, Project Co-ordinator. |
|
| While a March 2003 review of the activity-oriented
interventions provided to these people revealed that an awareness
had been created successfully, the parents wanted MNC to provide
more services to enable their children to go to school. They
also recognised and detected disabilities in other children
in their locality and brought them to the review camp seeking
counsel. |
| Three children, sponsored by MNC, brought
to Chennai for free corrective surgery at the SMILE project
of the Sri Ramachandra Medical College, became the first of
70 children needing similar surgery. The Collector of Ramanathapuram
District made arrangements for these children to be brought
to Chennai for this purpose. |
| Prevention of disabilities is now the area
towards which MNC is gearing its movement. Nearly 70% of disabilities
are preventable. If prevention becomes a reality then the resources
available for rehabilitation can be utilised more optimally
for the other 30%, especially those born with disabilities. |
|
|
