Our Visit to The Sneha Jyothi Special School

For Children With Intellectual Disabilites

We first met Mrs Maria John, the principal and the vice-principal from the Sneha Jyothi School For Children With
Intellectual Disabilities with Sripuram Public Relations Officer Yuvaraj in his office at Sri Narayani Peedam in the
Vellore District of South India. Mrs. John had made the 3 hour trip from their remote differently-abled school in the
Jawadhi Hills to make a presentation to us for the need for a computer, monitor and keyboard, LCD display screen,
tables and chairs. Over two years before Mrs John had made the same trip to Sripuram, asking for equipment for her
children.
The Sneha Jyothi school was established in 1994 by the St. Thomas Hospital and Leprosy Center in Chetpet, South
India to support disadvantaged children and their families. The principal and vice-principal are Christian Sisters and
have backgrounds in health and community outreach. They were happy to make a difference in the quality of these
children’s lives.
In the presentation we heard how cruelly differently-abled children were treated in some parts of India. We heard sto-
ries of children being tied to fences, locked in rooms, and generally turned out into the streets by parents with few fi-
nancial or social resources to cope. We were told that often the cultural belief is that children with intellectual disabili-
ties are possessed by evil and not considered quite human. Canadians Sharing was invited to consider providing a
computer, monitor, keyboard and a large screen LCD Projector to aid training in basic eating, dressing and toilet skills.
We were also invited to provide tables and chairs for meeting, dining and as educational aids.
Mrs. John’s requirements fit within our Basic Amenities and Educational Programs and we were delighted to be able
to help by purchasing the computer equipment and large screen projector. We had limited funding and were unable to
meet all of their requirements. Friends with a charitable group from Singapore called Hear Their Voices stepped in to
purchase and donate the additional tables and 50 chairs.
We accepted the sisters’ invitation to visit their school and made the 3 hour drive into the Western Ghats to visit, ac-
companied by a sturdy delivery truck. The roads were on the whole very good but sometimes a little narrow around
corners and a little busy with trucks and buses. We had a little trouble finding the school but eventually arrived with
the help of the Village Postmaster. I was happy to see that the almost fifty children were reasonably well dressed,
were able to sit in neat rows, and were quite disciplined. There were 3 teachers and appeared to be 3 support staff to
help with the children’s needs. The facility was fairly large by local standards and clean. The sisters mentioned that
they had not had enough funding over the last few years and the rooms showed a bit of wear and tear.
The Sneha Jyothi Special School is neat and clean and the 50 residents appeared to be loved and well We introduced ourselves to the children and provided a small lunch snack to say hello. The kids
looked after. We were given a tour of the entire facility which obviously needed some additional were all smiles and greetings and handshakes. Many of the children appeared to have multiple
upkeep. Mrs. John asked for support to renovate the old hostel building to provide a bathroom, physical and mental disabilities. We left cakes as a treat to be enjoyed with dinner.
kitchen and recreation room.

Tables and chairs all set up to provide proper teaching and eating facilities. They’ll be a great help Educational equipment just unpacked and ready to have the electrician set up the electronics and
for the Annual Day Celebrations and for meeting with parents. We gave beautiful pictorial brochures cabling. The computer equipment will be used to communicate the childrens history and medical
called Smiles for Children by our friend Summer Robertson with butterflies, rainbows and hello details as well as link parents and financial collaborators.
written in over 100 languages.