Samarpana is a voluntary organization that serves spastics and mentally challenged persons. Samarpana, the home for spastics and the mentally challenged is celebrating now its twelfth anniversary.
The ‘home’ was founded in 1995, in Kolathur, Tamil Nadu. Now, as many as 43 persons who are the patients of different levels of mental retardation including 11 spastics live in the home.
The organization was inaugurated on April 2, 1995 and has established two residential centers such as-
# THE NEST – Home for Spastics.
# THE RAINBOW – Home for Mentally retarded
The Samarpana trains the mentally challenged people in different kind of vocational courses such as candle making, paper bag making and gardening.
According to B.M. Sridhar, the founder of the organisation, the home is in urgent need of therapists and special educators.
Recently, a 10-day old girl baby, affected by Down’s Syndrome, has come to the home.
On the occasion of its 12th anniversary, Tamil Nadu’s Social Welfare Minister, Poongothai said that the mentally challenged persons must be taught to be independent in their everyday life.
She further said that the Tamil Nadu Government had granted Rs 25 crore for the welfare of the mentally challenged this year. He advised to non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Samarpana to join hands with the government for the welfare of the needy people of the society.
She said:
We will have to work hard in this direction.
Other disabled people are well aware about their kind and level of disability but mentally challenged persons do not understand their disability.
Every step is a challenge for them and we should help them to live better life.
She also said that there is a need to provide those people social as well as financial security also. NGOs should train them to generate income.
The government and the NGOs should work in better cooperation to help the mentally challenged people to live life in better condition.
