Gritty mothers receive honour
Brave odds to bring up special needs children
It requires extraordinary courage and patience to bring up special needs children.
Two parents, Gowramma and Saraswathi, who braved several odds to give their children with special needs a life, stand as testimony to this. Prafullata Bhardwaj, wife of Governor Hans Raj Bhardwaj honoured them at the felicitation programme organised by the National Association for the Blind (NAB) here on Thursday.
Gowramma has two daughters Chaitra (16) and Harshitha (14). Chaitra is mentally challenged, while Harshitha is born blind and has hearing disabilities. But Gowramma has no complaints and says she is blessed to have such children.
"Looking after two children with special needs is a challenging task and requires a lot of patience. My mother-in-law is retarded, so I need to take care of her as well. So there are three persons with disability in my house," said Gowramma.
Challenges
Being an autorickshaw driver's wife, Gowramma does not feel the pain of having special needs children but feels the pinch while getting the treatment and therapy. "Every month I spend nearly Rs 5,000 for travelling, medicines and therapy for my daughters. Getting the treatment is a problem,” she added. “Children with special needs should be encouraged to study and learn new skills. And they should not be locked at home. I take my daughters wherever I go, they are my pride,” said Gowramma.
Saraswathi too had brought up her children with special needs with grit. Unfortunately, one of her children died of some complication. "A child with disability is born with certain special skills. They may be talented in music, arts or education, however, they only need to be facilitated to realise their talent and areas of strength,” she said. Her first child Vanitha is visually challenged. She was diagnosed with elephantiasis with severe medical conditions and was hospitalised for more than six months.
However, despite all odds Vanitha completed her BA and pursued Carnatic music. She is now a music teacher and financially supports her family. “Children with special needs should be helped to identify their skills,” observed Saraswathi. Both these families belong to lower-middle class section of society.
