Tuba Pathak of class X and a resident of Sector II BHEl was all smiles when handicraft items made by herself and her fellow students from Anushruti school were appreciated by the visitors at the exhibition held in a local hotel on Sunday. Tuba is a “special” child but her special needs have not come in her way of expression through these items.
Another student Harsh Sahdev explained how he made handbag with his own hands and cloth cover for spectacles. It may not be easy for all to understand what these children explained with their sign language but with the assistance of their teachers, the expression of the students was comprehensible, how their untiring efforts had gone into making the exhibition a success.
“It is an initiative by IIT Roorkee and since 1989 the school, Anushruti located in IIT campus has trained hundreds of hearing and speech-impaired students,” tells the principal of the school Parvati Pandey. Deliberating on organising the exhibition, the member of academic advisory council of Anushruti, Mona Verma said, “The 92 students studying in the school at present are taught various handicraft skills in their language and to inculcate a feeling of pride in them, we have organised this exhibition. The revenue collected in the form of donation is used for the welfare of the students only.”
The mother of Harsh told The Pioneer that she shifted from Rudraprayag to Haridwar, only for the education of her son who was declared visually impaired at the age of three years. “This is the only school in the whole state where I could teach my child up to class XII. So I shifted to Haridwar. I wish all parents realise the needs of special children and send them to school. It makes a difference in their upbringing,” shares Rita Sahdev, mother of Harsh Sahdev. The teacher Neelam Madhok helped the students explain with hand gestures to the visitors about their products.