Special Friends care for differently-abled kids

At Special Friends, children are taught sustainable skills such as making paper bags, diyas, Ganesh idols

Hyderabad: Even though we have millions of differently-abled kids in India, the stigma around them continues to thrive. While children from well-to-do families have access to special schools, things are way worse for kids from the lower income group. With both parents working as daily labourers, many of these kids are often left alone in the house for a good part of the day.

This is what motivated Swathi Kureti, a city-based psychologist, to start a free school — Special Friends — for differently-abled children from economically challenged households.

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“As I researched more and went to slum areas to meet such children, I got to know that many parents lock these kids at home while they are away working. Before leaving the house they would keep some food for the child, and those who had a TV, switched it on. But, left all alone in the house, most of these kids would be scared throughout the day. As some of these kids look and talk differently, many normal children in their localities won’t even play with them — pushing the child further towards darkness. I found it very inhumane and decided to do something for these kids,” shares Swathi.

While her husband was always supportive of this new venture, Swathi faced a lot of pushback even before she started the school. She shares, “Coming from a low-income background, many of these parents are also not well-educated. It was difficult for me to explain to them what their child feels and how they need special care. Many were not willing to send their kids to my school. In fact, for a few kids who went to church with their parents every Sunday, I even approached the pastor. It was difficult at the beginning, but later I managed to convince them to send their kids to Special Friends, which started in 2013.”

As word spread, many parents started approaching Swathi for admission. At Special Friends, children are taught sustainable skills like making paper bags, diyas, Ganesh idols and other such things. There is no set syllabus and the curriculum is prepared for each student differently, depending on the student’s abilities. Swathi also focuses on ensuring that kids eat nutritious food while at school.

Interestingly, the school also teaches sex education to kids. “Specially challenged kids are more vulnerable to child sexual abuse than normal kids. However, these kids can be taught about the good touch and bad touch. We teach them about it, and also keep revisiting the topic, so that they do not forget.”

However, many of her plans went off the rails due to the pandemic shares Swathi, “I was teaching about 24 kids until March last year. We were making good progress. However after the lockdown it became impossible for me to keep in touch with these kids. Given the circumstances, many of my kids had to leave the city and go to their villages. I am teaching only eight kids now.”

As the situation grew more intense, Swathi also had to leave her school building and re-establish the school at Kapra. While she isn’t getting as much donation as she used to before the pandemic, Swathi is hopeful things will get better.

“We had to face many challenges in the last 18 months. But, Special Friend is open for admission now, we have a new place which is equally welcoming. I am committed to this project and doing my best to get the students back to school.”

For details on the school, contact Swathi Kureti at 8790103823 or email at kureti.swathi@gmail.com.

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