July 25th - Community Based Rehabilitation Field Work

Author: Rahul puppala

Today we were going into the field to interact with the CBR children. After three consecutive days of mixing cement and hauling bricks, this was a nice break. We visited the village of Baidi with Mailini Didi.

She took us to the houses of many disabled youth.

First, she took us to the home of Rajesh. Rajesh has mental retardation but he has overcame his disabilities. He even participates in the special Olympics and has earned many medals.

Next, we met two sisters: Isha and Bhavna. Isha has Cerebral Palsy and Bhavna has slight mental retardation. Malini Didi performed physical therapy on Isha to help her motor skills. We also met Shivani, Kaku, and Nikhil. All three siblings have ADHD and other physical/mental disabilities. Komal is their older sister who is normal and takes care of them because their father is a drunkard and their mother works a lot.

Then we met Amita who had hearing problems. With the help of Cord, he was able to get hearing aids and can hear better now. After meeting Amita, Akash and I decided to play with the local village kids. At first we played marbles and then Srini uncle joined us when we played cricket. This part was very fun.

Once lunch was completed we went to the house of Meenakshi and Rohit. both of them have mental retardation and Rohit has ADHD, speech problems, and CTV.

Throughout the day we met a few other disabled people but I think the most inspiring one we met all trip was a woman named Baljit. She has polio, which limits her ability to walk, yet she owns her own store. She has a sewing business which is doing very well. She also mentors other local girls in the trade. Her husband has mental retardation and he too has overcome his struggles and owns his own store.

This entire day was one of the most inspiring and uplifting days of the trip. We were able to see first hand, the obstacles these people with disabilities face in their life and how with CORD's help, they have overcome them and achieved their goals.