"If I am slow, I simply have to start earlier"- Robert La Fon

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With the generous help of Praleen Charitable Trust, Ahmedabad, we have been able to introduce the first community based programme for children from lower socio-economic group living in the Juhapura area of Ahmedabad. These children, apart from being financially marginalized, are also facing the consequences of the communal tension that exists in the community at large at present. In this sincere effort, we have the support of Samerth, another non-government organization which runs community development programmes in Juhapura for women and children and especially of Ms. Gazala Paul who is the Main official of the Trust and Afrozben who looks after the Juhapura programmes. It is only with their support that we were able to convince the parent community to send the children to the centre, which is unknown to them as well as quite far from their residential area.

We already had a couple of meetings with the team in Juhapura as well as an assessment cum parent counseling session in the month of October. The parents were eagerly waiting for some development on our part so that their children get the benefit of a professional team working with them. When they were informed that the children will be going to Setu in the afternoon for 2 hours, they were very excited and agreed immediately to send them. The basic ground work for this was done by Afrozben and her very able team.

Children started attending the centre from November 21^st. On the first day, we had 10 children and in the next couple of days the number swelled to 15! More number of girls than boys makes up this group which is an exceptionally remarkable development. Since the day we started working with them, on an average, we have 10-12 children coming to the centre everyday. Those who remain absent are mainly due to ill health or visiting out of station relatives, etc. Even then, the parents make it a point to inform in advance and we always know why a child has not come on a particular day. At the centre, attendance is maintained on daily basis and some children have 100% attendance till date. They also have two lady members accompanying them. The youngest child is 3 ½ years old boy Sahil, who has left home for the first time. After initial fears of adjustment, he is quite an imp in the centre.

We had a parent meeting in the third week of December to meet the parents to talk to them about their expectations and opinions. They were very happy that their children were getting regular services and were keen to visit the centre to see what we were doing with them. They also had lots of ideas and hopes to share with us and we have taken all of those and are trying to include them as part of the programme. We suggested visits in small group so as to not disturb the work of the centre. The exact schedule for the visits

will be conveyed to the parents and is expected to start from 2^nd week of January, 2007. During the meeting Afrozben and Hamidaben were also present and they, too, shared their experiences. Afrozben informed us that children (some of them) come back and tell her what they are doing in the centre and that she does see a change in them. The biggest excitement of the day is sighting of the Maruti Van which brings them to the centreJ. Apparently, children start ‘pestering’ their mothers from 1:00 PM to get them ready so that they can come to the centre.

The first month and a week were quite eventful to say the least. Instead of writing a narrative report, I requested the therapists who are looking after management of the children to pen down their thoughts on their experience and their feelings. What is written below is the direct translation of their comments.

Payal Upadhyay (Speech therapy): We started working with the children from Juhapura but all children had different problems. For the first two weeks, I just played with them to build rapport. Once they were comfortable with me, I started working with them on language areas. These children’s families and parents have different lifestyle, language, education and knowledge but building confidence in them with the help of Samerth convinced them to send the children to Setu. They expect their children to learn something and therefore, send the children happily and with a lot of cooperation.

In speech therapy, I have started working with them to follow simple instructions, oro motor exercises, puzzles and identification of common animals. Moreover, music sessions are held regularly so that they can learn to imitate the words and actions. All children are responding well to language activities, they listen to the songs carefully and observe the actions. Some children have started responding by imitating the actions.

Ami Pathak (Special education and Counseling): A group of around 15 children from Juhapura started coming to Setu from November 21^st with two lady members accompanying them. Initially, for the first two weeks, all children moved together as one group and were introduced to different toys and games to play with. They were given an opportunity to explore the place and all toys. They also attended music sessions to familiarize themselves and build rapport.

Once the children settled down, we divided them into 2 groups, where Group 1 (9 to 13 years) includes 8 children and Group 2 (3 to 8 years) includes 7 children.

Group 1 children have been introduced to different puzzles and activities related to their cognitive levels. They have begun to learn about basic concepts of colours and shapes. Few activities related to improving their attention and concentration span have also been given. The children are interested in learning and actively participate in the given activities.

Group 2 children have been given activities to improve their hand function and eye hand coordination skills. These children enjoy exploring toys and puzzles with little bit of help and have started to work on puzzles and other activities. The amazing observation is the wonder on their face when parts are put in a certain way and it becomes a figure! This is the part they like the most. They are enjoying learning through playing.

Rajnish Kumar Sinha (Occupational therapy): When we started working with children from Samerth, it was very challenging because of a lot of expectations from parents and Samerth team. More or less 15 children are coming regularly to Setu and are undergoing intervention programme. Most of the young children really require regular therapeutic intervention for improving their physical, communication and cognitive levels.

There are 7-8 children coming for occupational therapy and are progressing accordingly. One child named Saima never walked before and after a few days of therapeutic intervention, has gained enough confidence to stand independently and walk with support. She is able to take 8-10 steps. She has also started taking steps independently. Another child, Tabassum has Down syndrome and right side hemiplegia. She had never sat in a squatting position before and now, after just one month of intervention, she is able to sit in squatting position independently for 5- 7 minutes.

These are a few examples of children taking intervention regularly. The intervention programme is in early stage and as known, it will take long time. We are sure that after some time, we will be able to see remarkable changes in the children.