Life dealt them a bad hand but that didn’t deter these people from fighting all odds and standing tall and proud about what they have achieved today. SHALINI SAKSENA travels to Munnar in Kochi to bring you stories of the specially-abled men and women who are sassy, full of life and always have a smile on their face

Twenty-five years back, a few tea plantation managers’ wives got together to solve a problem that the workers faced — what would happen to their special needs wards once they were dead? But the more pressing issues that some of these families faced was the constant worry that they had left their child all alone at home and locked up. But they had no choice. Both husband and the wife had to work and with no one to look after their child who was autistic or hearing impaired, they had no option but to lock them up.

That is when the ladies stepped in and opened a school for them. Ratna Krishnakumar, founder and managing trustee of Srishti tells you that the journey of the trust started back in 1994 and since then they have grown by leaps and bound. “We started small, with a school that had  around six special needs children with one room. Slowly over the years, as more and more kids were brought in by their parents we grew in size and today we have this sprawling facility that houses Athulya, a vocational training centre and recycled paper-making unit, Deli, bakery and confectionery that makes breads, cookies, rolls, and biryanis is run by speech impaired and differently abled bakers, Nisarga, the strawberry unit employs speech and hearing impaired young people who make foodie’s delights like strawberry preserve, Vatika, that uses therapeutic power of nature to rehabilitate physically fit young adults with severe mental challenges and Aranya Naturals, that makes clothes from natural dyes that are designed by the special needs young adults,” Krishnakumar says.

She tells you that from only four to five children, the organisation today has over 63 children who are trained in life skills, basic reading, writing, and the fundamentals of mathematics and arts. “Though physically deprived, these kids are extremely strong in their human values and are very active. Their zeal keeps us all motivated, so much so that every week that I spend with them is absolutely rewarding,” she says.

There is a story how these units that export 60 per cent of what they produce came to be. One is told that once the school was up and thriving, a huge problem was staring at the trust — what to do with them once they turned 18? Going back to the life where they would be locked up once again while their parents were out to eke a living was out of the question. The solution? Making strawberry preserve. “We started in one of our kitchens. The region is known for strawberries. Most household have a kitchen garden and they grow this lovely red fruit. The recipe that we use to make this preserve is ageold — that had been passed on by the English ladies. To begin with, we would keep it in washed and hand labeled Horlicks bottles. That was our beginning. Slowly, we started training a few special needs adults who could work in the unit,” Susan Cherian who manages Nisarga recalls.

She tells you that all the people employed in her unit are hearing impaired, 10 of them. All of them do all the work from sorting the strawberries to removing the stem to washing them to then putting them into big boilers and then bottling them and labeling them. “It is not possible to employ autistic or mentally challenged young people because there is equipment and there are safety standards to adhere to,” Cherian says.

But there were challenges when it came to keeping these people employed all year round. “Strawberry is seasonal. We needed to diversify so we started making pink guava jam, passion fruit sauce, plum jam, the fruit is outsourced, and marmalade. Once the strawberry season is over, the unit gets busy with passion fruit, then comes pink guava. The lean months are July and August. But it picks up once the oranges are in the market. This way we ensure that these people are employed all the year round,” Cherian says and tells you that the unit makes 5,000 bottles a day during the season.

Cherian tells you that these specially-abled workers are dedicated to their work and out of the 10, four of them are extra smart and in fact one of them can speak English and has been to Haryana as part of para-games. Some of these adults today are bread earners for their family and are happily married with children who are totally normal and go to local school. Most of the workers here have been with the unit for over 20 years after they turned 18 and trained in area of their interest. 

Meet Ganesh who joined the unit in 1997. He tells you that he is married and has a son who is studying in Tamil Nadu and lives with Ganesh’s sister. The reason why his son is studying there is because in Munnar, the medium of education is Malayalam and he couldn’t cope with the language. He and his wife, who is from TN and normal, live in Munnar, Kochi.

“I sort the fruit that comes in and wash it. I ensure that the fruit is not rotten and there are no leaves and stem. I work six days a week from 8 am to 5 pm. I earn `10,000 a month. I also get bonus when there is a festival. I also send money for my son’s upkeep. I love the work here and don’t want to be shifted in another unit,” Ganesh says. He was born normal and could hear well till he was in Class IV. One day his father, a drunkard, hit him hard on the ear. That is when he lost hearing in both his ears – due to infection and high fever.

Pareselan is the oldest worker at Nisarga. He is the jovial of them all and wants to talk about his wife. He tells you that he came to DARE School in 1991 and joined the unit in 1995. “The best thing I like about this job is that all the bottles that we make get sold like hot cakes. I want to make as money as I can for the trust and the unit in particular. I got married in 2008. My wife works in Aranya and has blue eyes. My daughter also has blue eyes and is studying in local CBSE School. I earn `10,000 a month and so does my wife. With two salaries, we are happy. We also get `1,300 per month from the State Government because of our disability,” he says who also weaves baskets from bamboo in his spare time.

Prakash, is the artist among them and loves to paint and show his work to all those who visit the unit. “I have only three-four paintings left, rest have gone for a competition that I have entered in. My wife Muthukumari works at Aranya and have two beautiful daughters. My wife’s grandmother also lives with us. Both my daughters were born normal and the elder one goes to school. My two-and-a-half-year daughter is very smart. When she speaks with her mother or me, she uses sign language and the next, when she speaks with others, she switches to talking without missing a beat. My day starts with sorting the fruit, I can sort 25 kg in 30 minutes. The best part of the job is production. When we go back home, we talk about our day and what we need to do make our daughters’ lives better. Once I am free from this job, I also work part-time with a florist. He pays me `3,000 a month. From Srishti, I get `10,000, my wife gets the same amount. We also get the dole from the State Government. People understand my disability and over the years, they understand what I am trying to communicate,” he says. When Ratan Tata visited the facility he asked for Prakash by name and hugged him.

Gunashega and his wife Ragina together work at the unit. She is the strong one and is with him all the time. The two of them got married a couple of years back. To begin with, she would find fault with everything and fight but things have improved now. When we got married, we had adjustment problems and would fight. But things are better now. At present, we don’t have any kids but hope to have them some day. When we are out, people do take advantage of me but my wife is smart. She does all the calculation. Some sabziwalas try to fleece me, but now the two of us go together and they can’t fool me anymore. The good part is that everyone in Munnar knows about the trust and the work they are doing. They look at us with respect. We e popular here in Munnar. We don’t have very many friends, not that we need them, we are busy fighting with each other,” Gunashega shares. Ragina’s parents work with a tea estate and so does Gunashega’s mother who lives with his brother. But because he is henpecked, he rarely visits her.

He tells you that the best thing that Ragina makes is beef roast and rice. “While is make beef roast and rice, Gunashega has learnt how to cook as well and makes a great beef fry. In these last couple of years, I have taught him how to cook. He also does household chores like washing the clothes and utensils. We have a small kitchen garden and grow seasonal vegetables. Just the other day, we plucked some beans and cooked it together,” Ragina says who sent to work with Aranya but hated the work and came back.

Ajit Kumar is the 24-year-old athlete among them and has a severe hearing and speech impairment. He lives with his parents who dote on him. His family has several cows and most of the money comes from selling milk. He is called the rich man walking in his unit. His wallet is always full and never shies from helping those in financial need. “I help my parents in taking care of the cattle and have been with this unit for two-and-a-half years. Before that I was in DARE School. I do want to get married but I am young right now. I had gone to Haryana and hated every minute of it. I missed my family so much that I have decided not to participate in the games anymore,” Kumar says.

Special opportunities

• The Developmental Activities In Rehabilitative Education (DARE) School was established on November 1, 1991 with five-six special needs children who would otherwise be locked in one room while both parents went out to work in tea plantations.
• The school today has more than 60 special needs children who besides being taught curriculum are given vocational training. Some of these kids travel for over 30 km to come to the school in the bus that the trust has. The school also provides tea break and mid-day meal. Before, it breaks for the day at 3:30 pm, tea and biscuits are served as many of these kids will only reach home around 5 pm.
• The first unit to provide employment to these specially-able children was in 1994 — Nisarga — the fruit processing unit. The aim was to provide employment to them. The ladies who started this initiative didn’t want these kids to go back to the life that they had been living — locked up. They also wanted the special needs children to become financially independent.
• The first product was strawberry preserve. The fruit is abundantly found in Munnar and adjoining areas in Kerala.
• To begin with, the preserve would be packed in Horlicks bottles with hand written label. Today, the unit during the season produces 5,000 bottles a day.
• The recipe is ageold and is sans any preservative or colour. The strawberry is washed, cooked in sugar at a certain temperature that has been prescribed by FSSAI guidelines. Lemon juice is added. The bottles are then filled with the preserve and boiled. A printed label is then put after the bottles have been wiped of any moisture.
• The unit employees speech and hearing imparled people. The more severely challenged young adults like autistic and mentally challenged can’t be given employment in a unit where there is equipment. These adults find an outlet by working in the Vatika, the garden that produces some of the
• Besides Nisarga and Vatika, the adults who pass out of DARE School are employed with Aranya, the bakery and Athulya.