Dec 3rd, international day of persons with disability

Differently-abled Empowerment Programme

3rd DECEMBER, 2022 INTERNATIONAL DAY OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITY

On the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disability on the 3rd of December, Catherine Hope Foundation conducted a special programme to honour the differently-abled people at Catherine Hope Center, Ennore. We took care of the travel arrangements for some of them to help them reach the Center. We had an interesting and interactive session which included playing games, honouring the people, listening to their stories, distributing groceries, and serving delicious chicken biryani for lunch. Read More

We got to know the personal struggles of the individuals who were glad to have had a space to discuss them. We met Kumaran, who is handicapped and has two daughters. One of them suffered with a life-threatening breathing issue, and could not go ahead with the surgery due to financial constraints. He had neither food nor a job and wanted to end his life. At this juncture, he heard of CHF from a friend and expressed his desire to secure a job to help him. He was taken aback by the respect he received from the staff at the Center and appreciated how we honoured him on this occasion.

Regina, a young girl, who cannot walk was in tears when she came to attend the programme. She loved the games and wished that she was able to get up and walk like many other people. She could not hold back her tears and she spoke of her difficulty. Her parents wished that she was able to attend the programme and were eager to participate in the future as well.

Santhosh, a 7-year-old boy, is physically and mentally challenged and his father is a watchman, who has two other sons as well. He shared about dealing with insufficient finances and hence struggles to run and support his family. Pushpa and Bommi, two elderly women joined us and we could see that their age did not stop them from enthusiastically taking part in the games. Pushpa has no one to take care of her and she is left all alone by herself. She cannot walk and she survives with the little money and food she receives from an ashram nearby. Bommi loved talking to us and was beyond grateful for the biryani that she was served.

All of them said that no one has ever taken the time to conduct a programme exclusively for the differently-abled people and actively help whilst listening to their life stories. As a mark of respecting and honouring them, the staff put a towel over each one of their shoulders while thanking them for coming. They were told that they are our VIPs and yes, it made them feel very special and loved. They were very emotional and said that they have never found anyone who makes time to listen to their burdens.