SOCH’ Event by St Aloysius Students Puts Miles of Smiles on ‘Saanidhya’ Special Children
‘SOCH’-a Cultural Event by St Aloysius College {Autonomous}-Mangaluru Students of Department of Journalism Puts Miles of Smiles and makes a difference in the lives of “Special Children” in a “Special Way”, of Saanidhya Residential School-Shaktinagar, Mangaluru on 1 August 2018.
“We, the one’s who are challenged, need to be heard. To be seen not as a disability, but as a person who has, and will continue to bloom. To be seen not only as a handicap, but as a well intact human being. Hard things are put in our way, not to stop us, but to call out our courage and strength. I have had this desire my whole life to prove people wrong, to show them I could do things they didn’t think I could do” – Robert M. Hensel
Mangaluru: Love begins at home, and it is not how much we do… but how much love we put in that action. Joy is prayer; joy is strength: joy is love; joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls. Extending their love and bringing joy into the lives of the Special Gifted Children, ten Students of The Department of Journalism, St Aloysius College (Autonomous) organized a full-day cultural event “SOCH” on the theme “Let’s Break the Limit Because Nothing is Impossible” for the specially gifted children of Saanidhya Residential School and Training Centre at Shaktinagar, Mangaluru on 1 August 2018. The programme lasted from from 10:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. for the inmates of Saanidhya, comprising of Various competitions like painting, dancing, singing, and games like passing the ball, etc.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean organizing team member, Jini Shirley Jani said, “The initiative is a PR event which aims to bring out and showcase the talents of the children. We wanted to make a difference in the lives of these special gifted children, who always look forward someone to interact with them, and entertain them. And we are happy that we did entertain them, thereby putting miles of smiles on their faces. We feel that we are really blessed by this initiative which served the purpose in making these children happy”. The programme was compered by Angel Pratibha Jathanna, a IInd year Journalism student.
The students actively participated in various competitions like painting, dancing and singing They were immensely supported by the staffs of the institution. Refreshments were distributed to the students and teachers. Painting competition was followed by dancing and singing competitions. The students took turns in participating and the winners were decided. The children were dispersed for lunch at 12.30 pm and the afternoon session began at 2 PM. It began with action songs. It was followed by passing the ball after which the students of Aloysius performed dance programmes and sung songs for the children. The event concluded with a prize distribution ceremony where the winners of the activities were felicitated and baila. The prizes were given out by the staffs of the institution. All the children were also given gifts by Aloysians.
Quoting Robert M Hensel, “We, the one’s who are challenged, need to be heard. To be seen not as a disability, but as a person who has, and will continue to bloom. To be seen not only as a handicap but as a well intact human being. Hard things are put in our way, not to stop us, but to call out our courage and strength. I have had this desire my whole life to prove people wrong, to show them I could do things they didn’t think I could do”. Who said special children can’t dance? You are an absolutely wrong-the way these special children danced to the Bollywood, Sandalwood and Bollywood tunes, shaking their hips, their bodies, and making all those moves and grooves, did put all of us normal folks in shame, where some of us can’t even shake a leg? No doubt these kids too can dance like normal kids! And the baila session where the Aloysians joined by these energetic and enthusiastic children was the moment of the day, filled with joy and laughter, where a chance was given to all the children and others to shake their legs on the dance floor, thus spreading the joy, happiness and team spirit among all present.
Speaking to Team Mangalorean, Vasanth Kumar Shetty, the administrator of the school said, ” I am very grateful for these Aloysius students for entertaining our children and putting a smile on their faces. The doors of Saanidhya are always open to the Differently Abled children/persons who are deprived of a special school and training centre. We are at your service with our well experienced, dedicated, humble, loving special teachers and caretakers who are available and work round the clock untiringly. ‘Saanidhya’ always extends its helping hand to receive, support and take care of mild, moderate and severally challenged children in the age group of four to forty years, of either sex”.
“Our ultimate aim is to provide an atmosphere for the all round development of every differently-abled child and facilitate them to develop their skills so as to make them self reliant in their day to day activities, thus to join the mainstream of our society. And also to provide an opportunity to those mentally and physically challenged who are deprived of training facilities, to improve their skills and ability especially in the rural area by providing them well equipped residential school and training centre” added Shetty.
And in conclusion, to all the ten Aloysians namely- Jini Shirley Saji; Hinsma; Shilpa Sabu; Lekshmi Gopinath; Aabha Nambiar-the main organizers belonging to III rd year BA Journalism; and supported by volunteers namely-Sajna, Nikhil Biju, Akhila, Abubacker and Angel, also of Journalism course, Team Mangalorean says, “A job well done for bringing joy and happiness in the lives of these special children. Keep up the good work that you all entrusted with, and surely you’ll have the blessings from the people you serve”.