Celebrate this Diwali with ‘special’ diyas

Special Friends, a free school for specially-abled kids, assists its students in decorating earthen lamps this festive season

Hyderabad: This Diwali, lighten up your home with diyas made by little specially-abled students.

Special Friends, a Hyderabad-based free school for specially-abled kids from the lower income group, is assisting its students in decorating the earthen lamps for this festive season.

“We have been organising these events for years,” shares Swathi Kureti, a special educator and owner of Special Friends. “Along with the regular curriculum, we teach students sustainable skills like making paper bags, diyas, Ganesh idols, leaf plates and other such things. This Diwali season the kids have decorated about 500 diyas with various colours. Every day, for the last one week, we alloted about half-an-hour each day for making diyas. The kids love to paint and were very excited about the activity,” she says.

Once the diyas are prepared, Swathi then organises a small stall near the school, which is located in Kapra, to sell the finished products. “We have a small display outside our school. We sell the diyas at a very nominal price.

Apart from the education of these kids, we also ensure that these kids eat nutritious food while at school. So, all the money that we get is going to be allocated towards the welfare of our students.”

Incidentally, about 75 per cent of the diyas made by these kids have already been sold.

“Our regular donors, who already know about this programme, buy diyas beforehand. The kids were very happy when they learnt that the diyas they made were so in demand. Now, we are gearing up to make candles, paper envelopes and cards for Christmas and New Year,” Swathi shares.

If you wish to buy the diyas or make any donation to Special Friends, contact Swathi at email kureti.swathi@gmail.com or 8790103823.

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