From The President’s Desk

(A monthly newsletter published since April 2012 by Dr. Neelima Desai and edited by Kanaka Cadambi on behalf of Navkshitij)

Top: The happy faces of our Friends;

Middle: Amaras Party at Marunji;

Bottom: The greatest warrior in the world is a mother. Meet our colleague Mrs. Ashwini Gudade who resumed duty bringing her baby with her

Lockdown impact – the ups and downs

We hope the lockdown is eased out within a few days. We are eager to join duty and meet our near and dear ones. I am waiting to meet all our Friends and my colleagues. I miss them though we are in constant touch. All of them are handling this challenging situation with great understanding and patience. For me, the lockdown is in a way time to sit back and observe how my colleagues are taking the lead and executing their responsibilities. When I see the maturity with which they are handling their responsibilities, it has eased off a great burden that was weighing heavily on my chest.

Parents and siblings also responded very well and came forward to support us. When we appealed to them to help us by buying mangoes for our Friends, many of them responded instantly. Now our Friends are enjoying Amaras frequently. It is so heartening to see their happy faces as they enjoy having the Amaras.

As a fallout of the Covid-19 scenario, we have had to take a few tough decisions. We decided to temporarily shut our day-time facilities such as the Day School and Autism Centre for this year. Twenty-five Friends were attending these facilities from various places. Once outside the campus, it would have been very difficult for us to keep track of their movements and would have caused unnecessary stress for everyone here. We have cancelled all treks and the monthly Traffic Awareness Program schedules and also restricted visitors till December 2020. We are doing all we can to keep our Friends safe.

Hopefully, this year we will start construction at the Asawali unit. We have planned some new programs for the year 2020. We will reach special friends in slum areas and remote villages. We will visit other organisations working in the field of rehabilitation of mentally challenged friends. We would like to share with them the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) and checklists that we have created so meticulously. We will also train them in the use of the SOPs and checklists. It will help them to establish proper systems that will help give quality life to special friends. We are very confident about your good wishes and support. We trust the positive energy that binds us together. Take care, be safe.*

A salute to the selfless work by Navkshitij

COVID-19 has deeply impacted the lives of people. Mentally challenged persons and their families have also been affected worldwide. Many people have been comparing what is being done for this sector in India and in America and praising the Americans. But Navkshitij is silencing them by working selflessly and tirelessly with minimum manpower during the lockdown.

A famous journalist, Josh Kovener from Hartford Courant, wrote about how Corona has brought confusion and uncertainty in Special Education and Rehabilitation. “Students in special education programs, and their parents — many of whom are adjusting to working at home or dealing with the loss of a job, while also watching their children struggle with the sudden lack of structure — are bearing the brunt of the school closings.” After reading this, I felt happy and proud of my colleagues and the entire team of Navkshitij including the MD, Trustees, and the Admin, Workshop, Kitchen, and Caregiver teams.

During the lockdown, many people are facing problems such as obesity and stress. Many have lost their laughter. But at Navkshitij, our special friends are living with joy and excitement, enjoying delicious food. During this period, no one from Navkshitij contacted families regarding behavioural issues of special friends though we were facing some problems. We knew that families were under great stress and we didn’t want to multiply it for them. Some special friends went home before the lockdown and we could not allow them to come back during the lockdown period as a precaution.

To maintain a happy environment in the campus took lots of effort which was highly appreciated by our well-wishers, parents and siblings. I truly feel lucky to have such colleagues and friends.

By Rameshwar Fundipalle, General Manager (Operations), Navkshitij