Let’s give special needs children a chance: Asha Jyothi

Kind stranger: “I found this abandoned child on the street.” 

Asha Jyothi: “Who is he?”

Kind stranger: “I don’t know. I just found him.”

Asha Jyothi: “Thank you for bringing him to us. We’ll take care of him.”

WHILE the kind stranger in this conversation might seem like a compassionate individual who has just rescued a child and brought him to the safety of an NGO, in many cases it is the parents of special needs children who abandon their children by posing as strangers to “get rid” of children they no longer want – because they have disabilities. This is a tragic conversation that has taken place before between strangers and the staff members of Asha Jyothi, an NGO that cares for special needs children who have been abandoned. The organization believes that each child with disabilities can create wonders – if only given a chance. 

Based in Andhra Pradesh, the organization has a deep connection to the suffering of children with disabilities. The reason that the NGO came into existence in the first place was because a special needs girl named Bala Jyothi died, leaving her father distraught. He was so overcome by grief that he did not want any other parents to suffer the loss of their special needs children. He founded Asha Jyothi in 1998 with just 5 to 10 children with disabilities in the organization’s care. Since then, the NGO has taken care of underprivileged children with disabilities and given them shelter, nutritious food, medical care, physiotherapy and other forms of rehabilitation. 

Why are special needs children abandoned?

When children are born with disabilities, some parents are known to consider them a curse and want nothing to do with them. These parents either dump their children on the streets, in train stations, at bus stands or even give them to NGOs. There is a strong belief that due to the “bad karma” of parents, these children were born with disabilities as a punishment. Instead of loving and caring for their children and giving them possibilities for the future, family members believe that the “stain” of having a disabled person will affect the others in the family and make it difficult in the eyes of others. But nothing can be further from the truth. 

What happens to them?

Without supervision, children are vulnerable to mistreatment and abuse. But when disabled children have no guardians or parents to protect them, they are even more vulnerable to being exploited. Children with disabilities struggle to come to terms with the fact that they have been abandoned and constantly search for their parents. But when they end up in the hands of criminals or traffickers who start to harm and abuse them, the confusion and fear that overcomes them makes it difficult to think of other actions such as escaping or asking for help. Thus, these children are left in the hands of people who continue to exploit them for the rest of their lives.

Who are the abandoned children?

The underprivileged children in the care of Asha Jyothi have either been abandoned by their families or come from disadvantaged families who struggle to afford their care, education and rehabilitation. The children have conditions such as Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Polio and other intellectual disabilities. These conditions can be treated and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities are capable of growing into productive and fully functional adults – all they need is to be given the educational and rehabilitative support to realize their potential and build strong futures for themselves and their families.

How does Asha Jyothi help the children?

For the 75 special needs children in the care of Asha Jyothi, the NGO provides safe shelter, healthy meals three times a day, weekly doctor’s visits and qualified physiotherapists to tend to their immediate physical needs. The Asha Jyothi home is also equipped with an in-built clinic, a physiotherapy center and a hydrotherapy center to give the children the rehabilitative care needed. But above all, the home is a warm and loving place that nurtures the children and gives them a safe space to just be children and experience the joys of childhood. Asha Jyothi instills in each child the belief that each one is strong and capable of reaching their dreams.

Importance of skills training for adults with disabilities

Asha Jyothi cares for children and individuals from the ages of 4 to 30 who have various disabilities. For the older individuals with disabilities, Asha Jyothi provides training in vocational skills such as computers, tailoring and arts and crafts to prepare them for safe and decent employment. To offer skills training for individuals with disabilities, specialized trainers need to provide extra effort, time and patience. Asha Jyothi’s professional trainers take the time to equip and empower the individuals with the communication skills, practical skills and life skills needed to integrate into the mainstream workforce and society and work toward their goals. 

Importance of working with the parents

In addition to caring for children with disabilities, Asha Jyothi also invests time and resources in the parents of the children. The organization runs counseling sessions for parents of children with disabilities to equip and train them on how to care for children with mental and physical disabilities. In addition to practical steps, the NGO also offers parents a forum to express their sadness, frustrations and cries for help. By supporting parents, Asha Jyothi creates a sustainable system that ensures children receive constant and sufficient care and reduces the probability of mistreatment or abandonment by families.

YOU can support Asha Jyothi

The Andhra Pradesh based organization has 75 special needs children in their care and need your help to afford crutches, wheelchairs and other rehabilitative aids to help the children recover from their disabilities. To support Asha Jyothi: 

Support Asha Jyothi

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