Thiruvananthapuram: Muthu, 22, a special needs student belonging to St. Dominics Special School at Mannarkkad in Palakkad was unmoved by the scorching sun in front of the Secretariat.
She along with her mother Indira and nuns from the school, Sr. Pauline, Sr. Deepthi and Sr. Rosmi, had come to the capital to sit on a fast demanding aided status to 33 special schools in the State.
However, Muthu was in a hurry to get back to her school in Palakkad as she is the one who is leading the march past coinciding with the 71st Independence Day on Tuesday.
She suffers from microcephaly, a medical condition in which the brain does not develop properly resulting in a smaller than normal head.
Her mother told DC that she suffered from severe hyperactivity and she dropped her little one at the age of four before the nuns only to pursue a diploma in mental retardation. Indira was a pharmacist working in the government sector and decided to become a special needs teacher so that she can care for hundreds of such students.
“Now I have got lots of exposure on how to take care of special needs children. I have brought up Muthu in such a way that she has never felt neglected or sidelined from the mainstream society. Muthu has travelled all over India in trains like any other normal child”, said Indira.
She has got a piece of advice to the Left Government where they should give priorities to the mentally disabled who have been an oppressed lot.
Like Indira, DC bumped into another bubbly mother, Radha, along with her 14-year-old son, Sabari who have come from Karamana in Thiruvananthapuram.
Sabari was excited to experience the hustle and bustle in front of Secretariat while his mom was on a fast.
“Since Sabari is mentally disabled, I have been ostracised from my family. I really find it difficult to make ends meet as my husband is an autorickshaw driver. I sincerely hope and pray that the authorities’ eyes will open soon so that I don’t have to bring my son to sit here on another protest”, said a dejected Radha.
