Make this your wallpaper and show your support
Posted by: caresociety on: February 5, 2010
Zahu.. a girl with so much potential and talent..
If only her dreams can be achieved..
If only her disability is not seen fisrt…
Marking international Disable persons day: 3rd December 2009: Baa Atoll Kendhoo and Kudarikilu
Posted by: caresociety on: December 15, 2009
Theme for 2009: “Making the MDGs inclusive: Empowerment of persons with disabilities and their communities around the world”. The theme has been selected to draw attention to and promote a better understanding of disability issues and mobilize action for the empowerment of persons with disabilities (http://www.un.org/disabilities/).
To mark the day, parent awareness work shops were held in two islands organized by Child and Family service centers in Baa Atoll.
Parent awareness focused on creating awareness among the parents, in accessing information and providing support for the child within home environment. We were able to do two home visits in kudarikili and an awareness workshop session for 5 parents in Kendhoo.
Both islands have very few children/people with disabilities living in the community. Parents are helpless due to lack of support services for children with disabilities in the island.
The Island offices do not have information of children with disabilities living in the community. They often use the term “people with special needs” and this includes families with all different kinds of needs. For example poverty, “Zarooree Beynuntha nufuddhey meehun”, translated: families who are not able to fulfill the basic needs.
Schools are not in a position to cater for them within the school. Either due to age, disability or parents will. It was surely a fruitful experience for us; we were able to experience and witness lives of children with disabilities in the community. Surely lots need to be done by NGO’s like us advocating for their rights, pressuring the government to implement services within the existing constitution and policies.
“People with disabilities are people like you and me; they have a name before they are labeled with a disability, so why do we silently discriminate them?”
Our Sincere gratitude to (names of those ) for organizing and assisting us in the program.
Written By : Aishath Looba
6th December 2009.
Family integration Trip, organized by Care Society for families of children with disabilities
Posted by: caresociety on: November 10, 2009
Care Society organizes an annual picnic trip for all the families of students attending to Care Development Centre. We also invited families of former students (Registered Target Members) to participate as well. The trip was arranged involving staff and volunteers of Care Society.
The purpose of the event is to provide an opportunity for social development and a fun time for students and enhance positive self growth among parents, students, volunteers, and staff.
What did we Do!
- Water Fun:
- Water is an effective therapeutic environment for children with disabilities. It also helps in calming and relaxing the mind and body.
- Family trip provide an opportunity for children to enjoy water sport. All the kids participated in the water activities and had a great time.
- Games:
- One of the priority games we play in the trip are inclusive games. We involve children with and without disability along with their parents and play games they all can enjoy. Through which we aim to aware parents about the possibilities and how they can involve their own children in games and other activities at home or in the park.
All families had great fun enjoying the games.
- Parents and families interactions
- The trip encouraged families, especially Mothers to interact and socialize with each other. This helps in strengthening the relationship among the parents and giving them an opportunity to further psychosocial development.
The trip was organized by Shafeenaz Saeed, and Aiminath Waheed, with the support from other staff.
“Integration is not being present, but rather being able to contribute, we believe children and people with disabilities can be integrated into our society, all we need is to be able acknowledge their Rights”.
Written by: Aishath Looba (Assistant Director)
CDC kids for 350
Posted by: caresociety on: October 27, 2009
Students of CDC took part in the 350 camapign held on the 24th of October. Each child planted a seed and took it home. Caresociety would like to thank the organisers for giving this opportunity.
A day with the Parents…
Posted by: caresociety on: October 24, 2009
Care Development Centre (CDC), conducts various activities targeted to parents of children with disabilities who attend to CDC. One such activity is a day where parents of the students take classes without their teachers.
This program provides as opportunity for parents to interact with children with different disability and get a glimpse of teachers work.
All the parents who participated enjoyed their new experience and would like to get more involved in such activities in future.
A feedback session was held for all the parents who participated on 13th October 2009, and discussed about the strengths & things that need to be improve in the program.
Care Society hopes that such activities would empower parents who will be able to raise their voice for the rights of children with disabilities.
Would you wish for…?
Posted by: caresociety on: October 4, 2009
A colleague from Handicap International sent me an email sometimes back with a document addressing to the Rights of People with Intellectual Disabilities. As I read through the document I could not stop thinking about a debate from the “Self Advocates”. Which talks about the birth right of people with intellectual disability.
Being someone working in the field, it’s a pity I have never thought about this, “Their right to be born” which is different from “their right to live”. I don’t know how I view this, however I do believe true dignity would not be achieved unless they are viewed as a part of the society rather than a “Mistake, curse, disease or a virus” that need to be prevented from spreading. But as individual people it might be something we have different opinion about. From the time of conception till birth we hope and pray our baby would be perfect. We take measures to avoid any unnecessary misfortunes. We vaccinate and consult doctors to make sure. We send them to school and make the home a learning place so they are well stimulated. We have dreams about their future, maybe for them to become the most brilliant minds of the world. In all these respect our mind is set on the norms. Our worry is less and our future is well planned. But when it comes to a child with a disability it’s hard to ignore the dark side. Why is that?
I think this is something we can all think about and surely we would have different opinion on the matter. However sharing views would be really helpful for us acquire true meaning of equality and justice for all. If we can have same dreams and hopes for all Children regardless of their differences, I think that would be the greatest joy of all. And Their RIGHT TO BE BORN…. would be the greatest justice of all.
Written by: Aishath Looba
Zahu gets a platform…
Posted by: caresociety on: October 2, 2009
photo: Flickr (Dude Crush)
“Please” An initiative by Volunteers…
Posted by: caresociety on: September 29, 2009
|
‘Please’ is a campaign to help people with disabilities in the Maldives.
These children and young adults do not have sufficient services available to them. They are treated at best as second-class citizens and we aim to create awareness amongst the general public and raise funds for CDC (Care development center) in Care Society. We need your support to successfully manage this and in turn help kids who are in such situations. Please, Help! Under the ‘ Please’ campaign we have organised a Read-a-thon in all the school in Male’, Villingili and Hulhumale’. ‘Read-a-thon for charity’ commenced on 13th of September 2009. Students of all participating school are given the opportunity to raise funds to help people with disabilities at CDC, by reading books. Parents are going to sponsor their child to read books. They are going to donate MRF 3.00 to every book the child reads over the following two weeks. Please campaign is also centered around raising awareness about people with disabilities in the Maldives. Five documentaries are being produced depicting the hopes, dreams and every day lives of five different children with different disabilities. Further more, a music show will be held on the 1st of October 2009, to emphasize the importance of this campaign. Helping people with disabilities is not only their families’ responsibility. It is our responsibility as a nation. Through this campaign we hope to mediate a way for people to learn about these disabilities and help them via donations. |
STOP NEEDING ME ALL THE TIME!
Posted by: caresociety on: September 4, 2009
‘apart from the rest of the household responsibilities, on her by her eldest child.
It was a line I heard long time back when my friend gave me a book authored by the mother
of three children, two of whom were autistic. It was complete with lots of insightful
valuables on working with children with autism.
And that specific line touched my friend’s heart.
At the time when I heard the words, I was far…way too far to feel even remotely needed by my child.
He was barely four and was fiercely independent. So independent that he could care less
whether I existed in the world with him. I used to wonder who he thought I was. He’d never call me ‘mamma’…and just used my hands as a tool to get objects beyond reach…or to operate electronic gadgets that were beyond his knowledge. Sometimes I felt he recognized my hands better than he knew my face. Being autistic (As if that explains everything) he’d never looked at me……………..besides me, above me, through me…Yes…but never at me.
I used to become a clown when I thought he was staring at me…I’d widen my eyes, stick out my tongue, wriggle my ears and make all sorts of weird noises only to find his eyes still glued to the same spot just beyond me, when I move. I recall several of these instances where I had to blink back tears of disappointment.
I’d call out his name hundreds of times and get zero reaction…I’d force his face towards mine
and his eyes would never meet mine. It was as if he was immune to people’s faces..to my face.
Once I braved the circumstances and took him out to the beach. As soon as we reached the white stretch of sand I let the little body wriggle out of my arms and walk towards the sea. He looked so grown up and so beautiful. And I remember feeling momentarily proud…that is before I realized he wasn’t looking for me for guidance. The little legs just carried him away from me…and never for a moment did he turn back and see whether I followed. He would have gone to the depths of the sea and drowned had I not forcefully retrieved him to safety. He fought tooth and nails of course…At the moment I was his enemy. Scratching and biting he never realized I was just protecting him.
I used to see little children running to their mothers when they fall down or get hurt…And I used to get teary eyed at how they look at their mothers…. with so much trust….and immediately get well when their mothers’ kiss away their pains…I had wanted my son to come to me too when he got hurt or when he had troubles….I wanted him to trust me blindly like only a child could trust, his mother. But it was not to be….whenever he fell down he’d scream and squirm and run out of my reach….His hurt was his alone.
I was not to be a part of his pain. He’d rarely cry and would prefer covering it with the softness of the pillow than letting me comfort him to recovery.
He had an aversion to touch…He had an aversion to kisses…He had an aversion to people…
He would never let me hug him…pushing me away as if saying ‘I don’t need you’….And he never seemed to understand what my actions screamed… that I needed him…that I wanted him to love me. That I wanted to know the reasons when he smiles and the reasons why he cries. I wanted him not to deprive me of the happiness of being a mother.
We drifted more apart when I started working, spending nearly the whole day working with other children and returning in the evening…dead tired and dreading the time we’d be spending together in each others company. He’d be frustrated and bored. And we’d clash horribly when I try to train, teach and monitor his behavior and time.
When I finally decided to get better training opportunities for him, and a better understanding of autism and other disabilities for myself, I was nearly defeated. Far from being the nurturing mother and loving son, we were strangers…I to his world…and he to mine. Between us there was an unresolved animosity…until at the age of nine, a complete year after we moved….and then he began the journey towards the bridge that joined my world to his.
We’ve since passed that phase. He still has not reached halfway towards my world…But both he and I haven’t given up. Language has come amidst painstaking efforts. And with the ability to communicate we’ve solved most of those situations where previously we’d have faced frictions discord and tantrums.
Reading and writing and using the computer too has proved really helpful when he cannot manage to make me understand his needs orally.
Best thing of all is his relationship with me. I’ve finally found my son…who was so lost in the wilderness called autism, I was afraid he’d still be there in adulthood oblivious to everything happening in the real world.
And when we go out now, I find his hand reaching out for mine…and when he wants something from the shopping centers…..his eyes would search mine for approval. When he wants food at a restaurant he’d look direct at my face and read out his order. Now my attempts at making him laugh do not go fruitless…Rarely would I see him not break in to an amused smile….and his laughter when he is happy is just contagious…A more beautiful sound I’ve yet to hear.
It gives me deep pleasure knowing that my son understands I’m his mother. And his need of me is something I’ve only dreamed of for the first nine and a half years of his life.
He follows me now like only a shadow would it’s subject. He trusts me to make him better when he gets ill….letting me rub balm or give massages…he trusts me with getting his daily list of shopping before he comes from school…He trusts me with his interaction with others, knowing I can fill the spaces in the words he doesn’t know…and when he wakes up he trusts that I’d be there for him every morning… that I’d be there to go through his night routine…. In short he trusts me with his life.
And now sometimes, amidst housework, studies and the graphic designing work that I’ve started, and his constant following for something or other, I find myself silently pleading him to ‘stop needing me all the time’ 
What’s our future after September?
Posted by: caresociety on: August 5, 2009
(CDC student with a teacher)
Care Society has been working and giving the service for the past 10 years and CDC has been functioning for the past 8 years. We have been serving the most vulnerable group in the community and it has always been a passion.
Eversince the beginning of this year we have been openly talking about the limited funds and have been trying non stop to raise funds, but most of the work ended in vain. Though we new that the funds would run out oneday we were not ready to face it. We were hoping for a miracle to happen, untill last night where we faced the parents and broke the news. Why were we not ready to face this reality? because deep inside we did not want to believe that this day would come.
Last night what we saw was amazing. The commitment from the parents was unbelievable. Though the meeting went through lots of tears, it ended with hopes and dreams for a better future for CDC.
We have faith and hope….Anything could happen in two months…We’ll work untill the last minute.
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- caresociety: Yes she has grown up..but that little girl is Zahu's little sis...
- Yasiph: She's grown up dho. See the cute little girl on the right of header image at http://www.yafaau.info if I'm not wrong, it's Zahu dho. From the Care Tri
- yasiph: :D
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