The first impression of Khushboo reinforces all that the organisation stands for; you are welcomed by a cheerful beneficiary of the institution. When I visited, a smiling Rekha Sachdeva welcomed me and offered me a cup of tea and snacks. Rekha belongs to an underprivileged family and suffered from mental impairment and poor oral and linguistic skills. She enrolled with Khushboo in 1996 and was given expensive educational and vocational training by the organisation. Presently, she is employed in their kitchen and is a key team member discharging her duties with a deep sense of responsibility and commitment. Apart from being a useful member of the community, she also is able to help her mother in her day-to-day activities and contribute her mite to the household expenses.
The remarkable rehabilitation facilities at Khushboo catch your attention right away; a black room with multiple lights and rods tickle your curiosity. Shruti, a young quadriplegic is patiently going through with her treatment. The 25-year-old who has been undergoing therapy for nearly two decades has now progressed to a stage where she is able to sit down. Ashok, Khushboo’s project manager explains, “This room is used for the kids with Autism. We use lights of different colors to distract the kids so that the therapy goes on without any hindrance. It is mostly used for severely Autistic kids. This is also called Phototherapy.”
Gurgaon is a suburb of Delhi which grew rapidly in the past two decades. While the industry boomed, the growth in facilities for special children unfortunately lagged behind leaving a huge vacuum. It was particularly difficult for children with severe disabilities to commute to New Delhi to avail of the specialized facilities required for the treatment of their condition. Khushboo Welfare Society has stepped in to fulfill this crying need.
Starting with a small group children with severe mental and multiple disabilities, Khushboo has developed into a landmark institution providing wide-ranging rehabilitation services for infants to adolescents. While keeping their commitment for care of the deprived, Khushboo has identified its path as being a vehicle for the generation, development of means, and support needs of the physically and mentally-challenged. They help integration of this section of the society with the rest by the use of appropriate treatment techniques, application of advanced methodologies like Phototherapy for autistic children, and providing vocational training like cooking for elder people etc.
Khushboo seeks to lend a helping hand to inspire belief and confidence in people with disabilities and provide them with job opportunities. It has taken the Society really long years of happiness, praise, criticism, success, and failures to reach this position. With limited resources the team has been able to make a difference to the lives of many disabled persons. They dream to reach out to a larger group and work towards building a disabled friendly society through integration and rehabilitation of persons with mental and multiple disabilities and advocacy of their legal rights.
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