Karnataka Parents’ Association for Mentally Retarded Citizens (KPAMRC)

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They're in safe hands

Who'll take care of mentally challenged adults after their parents die? There's hope. A home near Bangalore shelters and nurtures them

Anjana Pradhan | TNN

    He may be mentally challenged but Varadharaj (42) goes through the newspaper after breakfast every day. He tells the day's stories to his friends, albeit in monosyllables. The sports pages are his favourite. If there's a cricket match
    that will be aired on TV,
    he informs his mates
    with excitement. Varadharaj, who participated
    in the Bocce training
    camp in Patiala last
    month, is a diehard cricket fan. Sridhar (42) shares his interest; he's a bowler and right-hand batsman of the cricket team of Vishwashanti Niketan, a home for mentally challenged adults, located at Arishinakunte, around 25 km from Bangalore. The idea of setting up a group home came from parents of people with intellectual disabilities who were haunted by the question: "After us... what?" Taking the idea forward, some of them bought a piece of land in Arishinakunte to build a home and live together with their children. But later, they came up with a noble idea to serve a bigger purpose — "Why only for our children? Why not a home for many more?"
    Then began a journey. A few parents decided to donate the land to the Karnataka Parents' Association for Mentally Retarded Citizens (KPAMRC), formed in 1978. With donations flowing in, the visionaries embarked upon constructing the homes where persons with retardation and other developmental disabilities can stay along with parent volunteers, who oversee, guide and assist in various rehabilitation activities. They also act as foster parents to those whose parents are no more or are not living on the premises.
    The project started with Rs 10 lakh to accommodate 50 persons in 2003. Currently, the complex has two blocks — a kitchen, four rooms and a service centre with accommodation facilities for parents. The home has eight inmates who just don't live there, but also work and play. And to teach them basic skills, eight staff members are employed.
    The service centre provides facilities for vocational training. It also has a daycare centre. The inmates are trained in candle making, mat making and cardboard box assembling, which are all sold in the nearby market. "To make the complex whole, three more units are to be built. One of them will be exclusively for women. KPAMRC is looking for additional funds to complete the project," says K R Venkatesha, KPAMRC president.
    "We'll be creating some more facilities for parents to stay either on a long- or shortterm basis. Professionals will manage them but to ensure love and affection, parents will be allowed to stay here," he said. Venkatesha, himself the father of a mentally challenged son Ravi (39), says: "Retardation is not a disease; it's a condition. And we want to make this home a model for other parents who have such children. They can learn from us and work to build such homes in other parts of the country." The monthly charge is Rs 3,000, which includes food, boarding and training.
    J K Khanna gets ample satisfaction when his 33-year-old daughter Vibha succeeds at doing something, be it small or big, on her own. A former manager of Union Public Service Commission, Khanna said: "Her brain cells were damaged when she was born. Though we tried all kinds of treatment, nothing worked. As she grew, it became difficult to handle. Later, when she learnt to keep her bags or shoes in the right place, we started finding happiness in these little things.''
    Vibha's brother Lalit Khanna says, "My experiences with my sister have been the defining moments in my life. She made me responsible, sensitive, caring and taught me to bounce back in life and to find joy in the smallest things." Vibha joined the group home in May, this year. The project manager C M Renukavijaya says, "The bonding that these special people share is just amazing. It's inexplicable."