Disabled children around Nedumangad, Kerala

Our regular readers will know about Asha Kiran Ashram, our special needs centre in Tamil Nadu. This great success has inspired Philip Mathew to do something similar in his part of Kerala. He has been offering physiotherapy to disabled children from poor families for a few years, with great results. Recently this has expanded to include speech therapy.

Earlier this year the centre moved down the road into a larger building at Kalathara. This has enabled the project to expand into a fully-fledged special needs centre which will be a caring community for disabled children and their families, including special needs teaching and training, providing the children with essential life skills. Tom and Philip have gone ahead in faith with this project, but without funding, and now some 30 children have regular classes with two special needs teachers and two assistants. As the children are so disabled they also need transport – local supporters have provided a vehicle, but they need a driver.

We have been able to get some grant funding for this project from a charitable trust, for which we are very grateful, but this will cover only part of the cost. A special needs teacher costs £100 a month, and an assistant £70. Could you help Tom and Philip with this inspiring project, and so help them to show God’s love to children who would otherwise be despised as a source of shame in their Hindu culture?