The Tamil word Karunaii encompasses empathy, love and a helping hand. These are the concepts that guide the Karunaii Trust set up to address the urgent need for specialized care of mentally retarded children, particularly those from underpriviliged sections of society.Condemned and ostracized by the mainstream, these children are victims of physical, sexual and psychological abuse.From a small building in Saidapet, Chennai, in southern India, Karunaii’s small but dedicated team help these children help themselves through education and day care. True to its name, Karunaii’s commitment does not stop with the emotional and educational needs of special children through workshops and awareness campaigns.The Karunaii Trust believes that through intensive care, greater social awareness and networking of resources, these special children can become valuable members of the larger community.
Karunaii Trust is a voluntary association of trained social workers, motivated special educators and concerned parents, dedicated to providing free educational and other support services to mentally retarded children and their families.The objectives of Karunaii Trust are
To provide quality special education on an individualised basis to mentally handicapped children. | |
| To establish a free residential care facility – in conjunction with expanded schooling facilities – to provide full-time care for our special children. | |
| To offer vocational training to our special children in order to equip them to interact usefully in the community. | |
To raise awareness in the broader community about mental retardation and the needs of the mentally handicapped. |
Residential Home and School
During the ten years that the Annai Special School has been operating, we have perceived a great -and unmet- need in the community not only for free educational services for mentally retarded children, but also for full-time residential care facilities for special children. In response to this problem, Karunaii Trust has committed itself to raising funds in order to construct and maintain a purpose-built school for special children, plus a residential home to provide full-time care to students. The master plan of Karunaii Trust proposes to have five blocks of buildings which include classrooms, a residential block, rooms for physiotherapy and occupational therapy, a health clinic, accommodation for residential staff, guest rooms and rooms to conduct training programmes for special educators.
The area selected for the building is about two thousand and five square feet, this will be as big as the ground floor. The first floor will be one thousand four hundred forty-two square feet. The construction costs for the building are estimated to be around Rs. 21,00,000.
The building of the school will be possible by the Patronage of Sri. Saidhai S. Duraiswamy, a former member of Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, who donated 2.74 acres of land near Thiruthani; Thiruvellore District of Tamil Nadu. The Trust is grateful to him.
Address
Karunaii Employment Services
14/10, S. S. KOIL EAST STREET, SAIDAPET, CHENNAI – 15
Phone : 23811262 E Mail : Karunaiiannai@hotmail.com
web : www.karunaii.org