Education, opportunity & support for Kerala, India

Dear Supporters, 

Over the last few months, we have been working on a number of smaller improvement projects that make a big difference to the lives of the beneficiaries at some of our partner centres. Here is what we've been up to.

Cottolengo

Cottolengo is a school for girls with a variety of special needs from Downs Syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and a range of intellectual, physical and behavioral problems as well as those that aren’t fully diagnosed.

The main aim of the school is to keep the girls occupied through a number of different initiatives such as dance, music, yoga and arts. Recently we have been working with the school to find new and creative activities. We want the girls to be able to use their hands and see productively in their work.

Two of the new initiatives the school has created along with the help of GVI volunteers in India are a vegetable patch and a chicken, duck and guinea fowl coup. These have provided great benefits for the students and they have found it extremely successful and engaging. Unfortunately, the two don’t mix very well and with the help of you, our donors, we have been building a fence and wall between the two to keep the chickens from digging up the vegetables. Whilst it’s still a work in progress the garden is looking better every day, giving the girls a great experience. 

Pallaruthy

At the beginning of the year GVI Kerala got together with our partners at the Pallaruthy Relief Settlement to create a vocational center to give the residents the opportunity to take part in a wide range of activities.

The residents at Pallaruthy are adults that have been displaced or their families can no longer care for them, with most residents having learning disabilities, they struggle to be integrated back into society.

The recent donation of items such as; tables, chairs, lockable cabinets and seating has made the bare space a now usable, comfortable and beneficial space for both the male and female residents. Currently, the room is being used weekly for leisure activities such as games, painting and drawing. We are planning on expanding this to facilitating vocational activities.

Since the room has been furnished and become usable we have noticed a big difference in the engagement of the residents, their problem-solving skills and in their overall wellbeing. The lockable cabinets have enabled us to store various resources at PRS which has increased the types of activities that the residents can participate in. 

Thank you for your constant support and generous donations which make improvements like this possible. They really do have a huge impact!

With Gratitude,

GVI India