The Hindu : Karnataka News : It was truly a special carnival for them

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Sunday, Dec 19, 2010
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Karnataka

Karnataka

It was truly a special carnival for them

Staff Reporter

Event promotes inclusion of special-needs children into mainstream

— Photo: K. BHAGYA PRAKASH

SEASON'S JOY:Children of the Spastics Society of Karnataka, volunteers and other schoolchildren having a ball at the Christmas Carnival in Bangalore on Saturday.

Bangalore: It was a day of fun, food and sharing at the Christmas Carnival at the Spastics Society of Karnataka (SSK) campus in Indiranagar, here on Saturday. Children of SSK, volunteers, staff members, parents and other schoolchildren were seen having a ball.

The carnival was organised by the senior students of SSK and classes 11 and 12 of Mallya Aditi International School (MIAS) with the dual purpose of promoting inclusion of children with special needs into the mainstream and creating awareness about the activities that SSK carries out for these children.

“We have been preparing for the carnival for the past month. This has helped bring our children and those from mainstream schools closer. It is also a change for us teachers and parents, who deal with these special-needs children everyday,” said Priya Rao, associate director, SSK. The carnival was inaugurated by students of SSK and MIAS, along with Uday Shankar, manager, Axis Branch, Indiranagar Branch, and Rukmini Krishnaswamy, director of SSK.

Colourful stalls

Starting from Christmas decorations, homemade wines, children's books and colourful clothes, the various stalls scattered across the campus held attractions of all sorts for visitors. A special stall showcased products made by SSK students from across the State, including patchwork quilts, khadi bags, eco-friendly paper pens and artificial flowers made of paper.

“People with special needs tend to be isolated whey they too are actually creative. Such events enable others to see them in a positive light, said Sowmya Srinivasan, a professional storyteller and SSK volunteer.

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