Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

Human chain formed to create awareness of deafblindness

— Photo: M.Vedhan

Remembering a legend:Participants of a human chain organised on the occasion of Helen Keller's birth anniversary in Chennai on Monday.

CHENNAI: Under an overcast sky on Monday evening, about 750 pairs of hands linked together to form a human chain. It comprised differently-abled children, parents and teachers. The National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities (NIEPMD) commemorated the 131st birth anniversary of Helen Keller to create awareness of deafblindness.

“These children are asking for empathy and not sympathy. This human chain is to create awareness so we can extend a supporting hand,” said Neeradha Chandramohan, Director, NIEPMD. Early screening for conditions in children can help them sooner, she said.

Children from various schools and NGOs held placards with Helen Keller's messages. One read, ‘If you give me your eyes and ears, first I would like to see my teacher,' referring to Keller's teacher Anne Sullivan. A student P.Vijayasaradhi from the Government Higher Secondary School for the Blind, who was reading Helen Keller's life history on Braille, said, “I hope our community will support us the same way Helen Keller's community supported her.”

Kannegi Packianathan, Secretary to the Department for the Welfare of Differently Abled Persons, congratulated all the participants. “It was very nice to interact with children who are so cheerful and excited. We should help brighten up their lives through early intervention and put them through normal schools, which will give them a good quality of life,” said Ms. Packianathan.

“My child has autism and through therapy at NIEPMD I can see tremendous improvement since he joined three years ago,” said V.Laksmanaperumal, father of 13-year-old Guruprakash. Six-year-old Nithysaree's mother feels the speech therapy, occupational therapy and yoga classes has helped her child. Children from the Clarke school for the Deaf and Mentally Retarded, National Institute for the Visually Handicapped- Regional Centre, CSI Higher Secondary School for the Deaf, Dr. M.G.R Higher Secondary School for the Speech and Hearing Impaired, St.Louis School and College for the Deaf and the Blind, Government Higher Secondary School for the Blind and Little Flower Convent participated in this event organised by NIEPMD.

P.R.Shampath, State Commissioner for the Differently Abled, participated.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Homeless need holistic rehabilitation plan
"Knowledge management needs to be given its due"
Teaching to their strengths
Picture postcards to be sold at post offices
Madras of 80s in Mumbai
Corporation to float tenders for desilting drain network
Police file counter
No fee hike for engineering courses
Thangam Thennarasu's election challenged
Court summons TANSI Managing Director
Human chain formed to create awareness of deafblindness
New trains from July
Protest against fuel price hike
Election challenged
Towards a self-study methodology
IT firms outsource training programmes
Nod for bund strengthening work
Con men strike twice
Minister inspects sewage treatment plant
Residents of fishing hamlets protest
Murder suspect commits suicide
Army jawan found dead
Appointed
Part-time fair price shop inaugurated
e-challan system for traffic violations launched
Last date for issue of forms for law courses extended
Samacheer Kalvi: “amendment to Act valid legislation”
Court says it cannot appreciate tax exemption for IPL matches
In Chennai Today

Copyright © 2011, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu