It is 11 am on a Monday morning and little Ashton Gomes (9) and his friend Muqit Shaikh (12) are busy completing a puzzle in the functional academics class of the Chetna school for special children in Curchorem. It is clear that the boys are having a lot of fun. Mutiq is teasing Ashton in chaste Konkani stating that he is quicker than him. Their teacher Luiza D’Costa intervenes to remind them that it is not a race and they need to enjoy the process instead.
Luiza teaches her batch of special children numbers, the alphabet, money concepts, time concepts and life skills. “The children also undergo classes in occupational therapy, speech therapy and physiotherapy,” Luiza said.
The Chetna school, which is situated close to Ravindra Bhavan in the Curchorem town of south-east Goa has been a boon for over 70 special children from the Quepem and Sanguem talukas for the last three years.
A brainchild of the Sankalp Theatre group of Curchorem, the school which began operations on the first floor of the Kakodkar family home in June 2015 has had humble beginnings. According to Rubiya Kakodkar, special educator and the school in-charge, her team identified close to 1,200 young persons with disabilities in the Quepem and Sanguem talukas and went door-to-door promoting the school. “We began with 20 students in 2015 and have quickly progressed to 71 students in three years,” Rubiya said.
Today, the school has children and young adults in the age groups of 3-8, 8-14, 14-18 and above 21 years of age and works from 8am to one pm every day for five and half days of the week. Children with intellectual disabilities, hearing impairments, Downs syndrome, autism, attention deficiency hyperactive disorder (ADHD) and cerebral palsy are admitted to the school. The school exposes its students to a wide variety of learning which includes functional academics, vocational training, music and sports.
Saili Durbhatkar, the school’s ever smiling vocational expert walked me through the different classrooms and one was happy to observe happy children and brightly painted classrooms everywhere.
The vocational class was the busiest of the lot. Young adults, both boys and girls were busy making newspaper bags for a client. According to Saili, it takes 10-15 days for the special children to master the art of making paper bags. “They forget easily and we need to sometimes refresh their memories at the start of each day,” Saili said. However, the teacher proudly pointed out that one of her intellectually disabled students had actually completed a one-year desk-top publishing (DTP) course and was ready to be employed in a small printing press very soon.
Saili said that the vocational class students made bags from newspapers, chart paper, tinted paper, Diwali lanterns, Christmas stars and a variety of diyas. “We accept orders and the profits are shared equally by the children,” Saili informed with a smile.
In a class for tiny-tots, which is also called the ‘caring’ class, special educator Satiksha Gaude is looking after children in the age group of 4-8 afflicted with very severe disabilities, cerebral palsy and Downs syndrome. “We play ball games, balloon games, sing songs to them and also introduce them to pre-writing skills like joining the dots and scribbling,” Satiksha said. The children are also exposed to speech therapy, music therapy and physiotherapy.
In another classroom, music teacher Rudresh Fondekar is guiding a young student on the keyboard. “The keyboard is a wonderful instrument. The children are happiest when they learn to play popular songs by themselves,” Rudresh said.
Extra-curricular activities are pursued with enthusiasm in the school. A few Chetna students have already represented the Goa state team in the National Special Games and presently, the children are gearing up to host their annual state level dance competition for special schools to be held on November 30 at the Ravindra Bhavan, Curchorem.
According to Rubiya, the school is recognised by the state government and every student’s family gets a sum of Rs 3,500 every month to finance the child’s uniform, stationary equipment and miscellaneous needs.
The school provides free education and even free transport in two private vans. “The government’s Balrathsystem has been scrapped and we do not have access to a bus. We provide our own transport because we want the children to come to school every day,” Rubiya said.
Future plans include setting up a 10,000 sq metres residential and day school structure in nearby Cacora. The ground floor of this structure is ready and the school is approaching sponsors for funds. “We are working with our hearts in the right place. We would be happy if the society can lend us a helping hand,” Rubiya said.
For more details visit: www.chetnatrustgoa.org
Voices
1) Ashton Gomes (9) student: I love the puzzle games. I love coming to school.
2) Mutiq Shaikh (12):I love numbers. I have learnt to count money.
3) Rubiya Kakodkar, School In-charge: Special children have exceptional talent. We need to make them independent. They are not a burden on society.
