PRESS RELEASES

Thus were born the four business units, power laundry, printing press, mineral water plant and toy making factory. Equipped with the state-of -the art machinery, the Production units employ orthopeadically and intellectually differently abled persons who are initially trained on the job by department heads.

Profits fro these units go towards maintenance of the social units comprising of three schools - The EVA integrated for physically handicapped and non differently abled children, Navapraja for mentally handicapped persons, and a pre-vocational training centre * PVTC (that is currently training 55 mentally handicapped adolescents in carpentry, leather craft tailoring, envelope making, screen printing, and injection moulding).

Products from PVTC are sold outside through institution's marketing department.

At the end of three years, trainees are either absorbed by the in-house business units or assisted in finding work outside. Some are even helped in setting up their own vocational units.

QUALITY AND AWARDS

Initially, orders from the outside were motivated by sympathy. But soon clients began to acknowledge the institution's commitment towards quality. Says marketing head D. Surya, "In an open market, there can be no compromise in professionalism."

Standards are high and the institution has successfully competed with other tenders, namely for Southern Railways, which is now their biggest client. Adds Samson Manohar of hotel Srilekha Intercontinental,
"The Life Help Centre has the biggest power laundry equipment in Chennai. Rain or shine, they have almost kept their deadlines."

"Our aim is to provide training, generate employment, make profit and give it back to the people with social benefits." Says S. Gayathri, assistant Co-ordinator and vocational training instructor. Wheel chairs are provided free of cost while calipers, crutches and medicated shoes are sold at 50 per cent market value. These appliances are manufactured by handicapped persons themselves in the in-house orthopaedic service unit. Women workers staying away from the home or abandoned by their families are housed in the institution's differently abled working women's hostel.

Products manufactured meet international quality standards. The toy making unit, for instance, exports educational toys and puzzle made of wood to Germany and Japan and caters to the demand from local Montessori schools. While the mentally handicapped are given such work on cutting machines and handle light equipment, the non differently abled do the rest of the work. For the 85 handicapped workers, self -dependence has paved the way towards self-confidence. Take the case of Shanmugam who works in the power laundry. He came from Trichy 15 years ago in search of a trade. "My greatest desire was to earn my living. Today, I am not burden to anybody" he says.

The courage to overcome, hope to aspire, and determination to lead an independent life characterizes the employees of the Life help Centre. As R.S.Kannan says, "Where there is a clear direction and steadfast will, nothing is impossible." And, that just about sums up the philosophy of the entire organisation.

Project for 'slow learners' yet to take off by our special correspondent Chennai, Sept.16,1998
Absence of scientifically evolved curricula and methodology for teaching "slow learners"-as distinct from the mentally retarded- in the country is what is holding back an NGO in the city with an exemplary record from launching its new project.

Started in 1977 at a rented premises in Adyar with an enrolment of three mentally retarded children, the Life Help Centre for the Handicapped has today become one of the leading institutions for personality and skill development of orthopaedically and mentally handicapped children.

The centre has earmarked a land near the swiming pool (used also as a hydro-therapy centre) for building a school for slow-learners. "Unfortunately, there is no proper school or curriculum or specialised teachers for slow learners and there is a tendency to consider them as mentally retarded. At best, there are schools for methodology is to stretch the courses for a longer duration for each standard in which the slow learners get enrolled", according to Mr. R.S. Kannan, who launched the centre and has been its moving spirit right through.

Having moved to its own premises occupying about 12 acres of land at Palavakkam on the East Coast Road, the centre at present operates a kindergarden and school upto the eighth standard for orthopaedically handicapped children, offers specialised training for mentally retarded children and maintains a medical centre, a swimming pool and, more importantly, a vocational training centre for these children which imparts skills in packing, domestic science, assembling of engineering products, toy making ,agriculture and allied activities and leather craft. It also has dormitory and cottage-type hostels for the students.

It also operates facilities like a power laundry and a printing shop for catering to the market and produces mineral water which fetch revenue and add to its self -sufficiency.

"The centre, whose annual budget is about Rs.1 crore now, has reached 85 percent self sufficiency. It is to enable continued participation of the socially-conscious public and institutions in this venture that i have not made it 100 percent self-sufficient". Mr.Kannan said. Having worked in Germany for two decades in social welfare projects earlier, he has deployed all his energy and talents in developing the centre, for which he was conferred with a national award in 1994 and a state award 1981.

"A hallmark of this centre is the integration of the handicapped into the productive process and attainment of a high level of self-sustainability-which are the objectives of In-do-German Development Cooperation",said Mr. Michael Hasper, German Consul in Chennai, who accompanied a group of journalists during a recent visit to the centre.

The mineral water from the centre, popular in the market with its Green Valley brand name, is made from equipment which is almost wholly indigenous, except for the ozonator imported from Germany. The plant can, from this year, produce more (upto Rs.50 lakhs worth a year) without getting into excise hassles. According to Mr. Kannan, the State Government had granted ST relief to mineral water. The centre's power laundry has a major customer in the railways. "We do the job on time and are a reliable service provider for the Southern Railways", he said.

The Life Help Centre practices self-help as a basic tenet. It produces its own vegetables, packaging, mineral water bottles from plastic performs, cans, clamps, lids and also orthopaedic aids like calipers, artificial limbs and crutches. Its printing press is unit both for in-house needs and job orders.
Toys produced by the centre are exported to several countries. Carpentry, metal work, tailoring, crafts, horticulture, envelope making, toy making, injection moulding and screen printing are skills which the handicapped children acquire depending on their age and capability.