Differently abled male adults get permanent home

‘Saanidhya Shashwath’, first permanent home for differently abled male adults, was inaugurated by philanthropists Shankar Rao and Meenakshi S Rao at Shaktinagar on Wednesday.

Saanidhya Shashwath, completed at a total cost of Rs two crore and spread over 11,000 sq ft, is the third initiative of Shree Ganesha Seva Trust for exceptional persons. The Trust had launched Saanidhya residential school in 2003 and training for mentally challenged and a skill training centre for victims of endosulfan poisoning in Ujire in 2018.

Mangaluru South MLA D Vedavyas Kamath promised to mount pressure on the government to redress the problems faced by special schools like Saanidhya. He promised to reduce the Rs 22-lakh debt on the institution and sanctioned an amount of Rs five lakh from his MLA local area development fund.

He praised parents for accepting the special children as ‘panchamrutha’ (special gift) of god and striving hard to bring them into mainstream. The MLA also bowed before the office-bearers and thanked Saanidhya for taking such a big decision of building a permanent home for the differently abled adult males.

Saanidhya administrator Dr Vasanth Kumar Shetty said Saanidhya began with two children and one teacher. Today, the institution as 165 inmates and 65 special educators. He urged the government to increase the salaries of educators serving in special schools across the state.

Prashanth, A G Sharma, Umanath, Santosh Shetty and Satyanarayan Rao involved in the construction of Saanidhya Shashwath were felicitated. The parents of Harish (first student to enrol in Saanidhya) Ram Bhat and first teacher Suma D’Silva were felicitated on the occasion.

Department for Empowerment of Differently Abled and Senior Citizens Director K Leelavathy, Dubai-based philanthropist Michael D’Souza, former vice president of Tulu Koota in Qatar Abdulla Monu Moidin and KIOCL Chairman and Managing Director M V Subbarao also spoke on the occasion.

‘A blessing’

‘Saanidhya Shashwath’ is a blessing, Dr Rashmi Kambali stressed on Wednesday.

“Initially, there was scepticism but later relief when I was informed about the permanent home,” revealed Dr Rashmi who had enrolled her brother Vinayak in Saanidhya school. “I thought a permanent home for differently abled children was like an old age home. But, given the life’s unpredictability, Shashwath, where we have invested emotionally and financially, will help us all,” she said.

Saanidhya administrator Dr Vasanth Kumar Shetty said that, following demands to build another permanent home for differently abled adult women, the mission is still incomplete.