Thiruvananthapuram: The government is planning to offer livelihood training to mothers of children with intellectual disability studying at Kudumbashree BUDS schools. LSGD Minister K.T. Jaleel said this at the first BUDS fest for children with intellectual disability. Such children are the sole responsibility of the mothers, according to G.S. Amritha, Kudumbashree programme officer. The fathers, being bread winners, may not be able to get as involved as the mothers, she said.
This was evident at the fest, where most participants were accompanied by their mothers from as far as Kozhikode to support the children. They would often stay at the BUDS school throughout the day as their children might at any point need them. If there is an opportunity to earn a living at the school, it would be beneficial to the mothers, said Amritha. The minister also said that BUDS rehabilitation centres will be opened in every district in the state. Around 25,000 children with intellectual disability are not in BUDS schools, and Kudumbashree should reach out to them as well, he said.
He also talked about opening pre-marriage counselling centres in every district. The first such centre will be opened at Tavanoor in Malappuram. The government estimates an annual budget of Rs 1.5 crore for the project, he said. ‘Keralathinte Kudumbashree’, a monthly, was released by the minister. The mission’s executive director S. Harikishore applauded the efforts of its associate editor Asha S. Panicker in bringing it out.
