Kannur: It was social ostracism that forced 40 visually challenged people to unite and find a way out of their handicap several years ago. They formed the Swasraya Sangham at Mathamangalam, Thumbathadam, with the support of the district panchayat in 2003 which has now become a centre with an enviable record of growth. They celebrated Vishu on Wednesday with their family members at the centre with a feast sponsored by the KAP IV battalion, Mangattuparamba. Currently, the office of the ‘Sangham’ in a 20-cent plot runs a rehabilitation centre with units for book-binding and chalk production and rears cattle and fowls to raise funds. Among the 40 members, 14 are women.
“Self-help groups like Kudumbasree had never welcomed us. We felt ostracised. None took up the challenge to run a group with the blind. So we decided to form our own,” said E.V. Raveendran, 60, one of the founding members of the Sangham. Though Vishu is a colourful event to be seen and enjoyed, we were given a chance to make our families also feel proud about our hard work with the celebration here,” he added.
The feast was also prepared and served by the KAP trainee recruits as part of their social responsibility. “This was an attempt to make them sensitive towards the poor and deprived sections,” said KAP IV commandant K. Sanjay Kumar Gurudin. The male members of the Swasraya Sangham have given more responsibilities to the women so that “they can learn and take the group forward.” The group currently supplies notebooks worth Rs 3 lakh to the schools in Kasargod and chalks to 40 schools in Kannur and Kasargod.
