Deliver disability care to 25000-rural Bangalore

Dear donors,

Greetings from Bangalore Baptist Hospital Society!

Thank you for your continued support, and it's amazing to see the transformation it brings in the lives of the specially-abled people we serve. 

Charithriya loves the colour pink, enjoys playing stacking the rings and the bumpy bus rides (the bumps make her giggle) to the learning hub. Children such as Charithriya and parents have new hope and dreams of a  brighter future for their children, because of your support. Our Learning Hubs that you helped establish is making such an impact; enabling them to adapt and learn daily activities and skills and see progress, however small it may be.

Charithriya was diagnosed to have microcephaly which is a rare neurological condition in which an infant's head is significantly smaller than the heads of other children of the same age and sex.

When Charithriya was brought to our learning hub four months ago, she found it difficult to stand, walk, touch and talk; everything that a normal child could do was challenging. But now, after being absorbed into the class with children of her age, has shown significant progress. Her birth marked the beginning of a long struggle to find a secure place where their daughter’s needs could be met. It’s Charithriya’s aunt who has taken the responsibility of bringing her to our hub and ensuring she progresses.

“Charithriya has overcome her restlessness and now engages herself continuously for at least 30 minutes. She can now sit up straight and has more confidence in herself.  When I started working with her, she could only communicate through gestures and sign language. Now, she can speak a few words; from a one-word stage to two words stage, an enormous joy to her family” says her teacher at the Hub.

“We are happy that we enrolled Charithriya at the Learning Hub and are excited about her progress. The BBH supported disability certificate enables Charithriya to receive a disability allowance as well. It’s been a life-changing experience,’ says her joyful aunt.

While we celebrate the life-transforming changes that we witness every day, there are many more families with similar children who need such therapy and establishment of other hubs closer to their homes. We depend on donors such as you to bring hope to these children too.

You may remember Shashank, whom you had supported earlier to get a lower limb prosthesis. We met him recently, and he proudly showed us the medals and certificates he had won in the recent past. Shashank always had a dream of becoming a sportsperson and the accident he met with almost destroyed is dreams. “I haven’t sat on a swing in a long time. I am so happy that I can play with my friends," says a rejuvenated Shashank. His latest craze is photography!

Just as Charithriya, Hithaishi, Deepika, Mohammed, Lokesh, Hemasiri and Shivan received the following support for six months.

•    Special education, speech therapy, disability card. 

•   Physiotherapy, speech therapy and counselling 

•   Lavanya's mother to undergo special education training, and now she works as a special educator at our Learning Hub at Devanahalli.

One crucial strategy we initiated is to train a cadre of caregivers among the mothers of children coming to the hub. Eight such mothers have been trained as certified special educators. They not only help in the therapy sessions at the hub but also become sustainable resources within their communities. We also provide home-based physiotherapy through home-visits to those parents who are unable to bring their children to the learning hub.

Government entitlements:

Our ongoing project – assisting people with disability to obtain their national identity card has helped them in a big way. They can be more independent, better self-confidence and take decisions on their own to better their life situations. 

With your donation, we helped:

•   Varshitha to receive disability ID card, monthly sustenance allowance, and support for her marriage.

•   Mahesh to receive disability ID card, monthly sustenance allowance, and a wheelchair. Mahesh can move around independently now.

•   Narasimha to receive disability ID card, monthly sustenance allowance, and a wheelchair.  Narasimha is happy that there are no more challenges for him with his mobility.

•   Prasdha to receive disability ID card, prize money, and scholarship 

People with disabilities take a back seat not only because of disability, but additionally also due to poverty, inaccessibility, and affordability of assistive devices. If the necessary facilities are provided, they could be mobile, move out of their homes be more socially active and look for better opportunities.

Our new center at Doddaballapur offers support to people with disabilities in this area to access entitlements, livelihood opportunities and help children with disabilities see a brighter future. Mothers who found it difficult to travel long distances (often they have to take 2 or 3 buses) to reach our first centre at Devanahalli, can now receive the similar support in our new centre (at Doddaballapur) which is closer to their homes. 

Whether you supported facilitating Govt. entitlements, assistive devices for children or supported children with intellectual disability, you have made the difference possible! You are the reason for bringing about a significant change in their lives. Thank you for your continued support and encouragement. 

 With gratitude,

Gift Norman