Unmindful of their painful past, they engage in ‘special’ skills

Visakhapatnam: Paying rapt attention to the trainer’s instructions, a group of differently-abled children work in tandem to make organic soap bars, incorporating rose petals and natural aromatic substances at their own pace.

There is no ‘rate per hour’ to complete their targets. But there is certainly a lot of fun in the air when they try to follow the directions and focus on completing bars of soaps.

Years back, each one of them had gone through painful experiences as they were either abandoned by their own families or ill-treated.

Getting a meal was often left to the mercy of passersby or food suppliers or restaurant owners near railway stations or bus stops as they randomly roamed in search of food to cater to their hunger pangs.

Today, they are not just fed well and equipped with creative skills at Care and Love Foundation, an NGO-based in Visakhapatnam. “Most of the children had a horrible past. It was heart-wrenching to recall the agony they had endured,” shares Hymavati Patina, founder of the NGO, on the occasion of the ‘World Disability Day’.

Incepted in 2014, the NGO provides shelter to 20 differently-abled children now and also offers training in crafts such as soap-making, candle-making and pot-painting.

Having gone through multiple surgeries and endured several health complications, Hymavati, who is currently in the US, decided to reach out to the abandoned differently-abled children and help them lead a dignified life.

The idea of operating a home stemmed from her health challenges. “I am fortunate to have a supportive family. But imagine the condition of those who do not have any such support,” she expresses concern.

With the support of her husband Kurma Rao Yenda, father Sarangadharudu Patina and G. Ramya, who is working as secretary of the NGO, Hymavati says that she is able to change the lives of the differently-abled children present at the home.

In addition to engaging special children in a constructive manner, the foundation also educates women in slum areas about maintaining menstrual hygiene, distributing vitamin supplements and sanitary napkins to them as part of the ‘Her Safe’ endeavour. Going forward, the foundation intends to cater to a larger section of women.

Although the special children here are not able to communicate much, their happy faces do reflect the way they were being taken care of.

Hymavati opines that if people could come forward to extend support to the differently-abled children, the world will be a better place to live in.