Change in ones self can be achieved only through AWARENESS. Once awareness becomes a flame, it burns up the whole slavery that the mind has created on the unknown. There is nothing more blissful and more precious than freedom, that being a master of ones own destiny, one begins to appreciate the greatest gift - Life.
Special Sports Meet for Special Children
The 3rd Unified Sports Meet organized together with Montfort Community Development Society, Chennai, was an effort to develop friendship between normal and the differently-abled children. Unlike Special Olympics where the differently-abled children take part in regular sports events, special group games were organized, keeping in mind the ability of the special children who participated in the sports meet. The day was filled with activities that brought much joy to the special children. They were happy to interact and build friendship with the normal children of Montfort School. The Special Guest Dr. Nagarajan, Director Special Olympics, Asia Pacific lauded the Principal, Bro. George and the school and Bro. Patrick, Director of MCDS
for showing special interest in the welfare and happiness of the differently-abled, creating awareness and endeavoring to build friendships for them among the normal children.
Awareness on Child Labour
The Peer Group Association for Child Rights took a survey on the number of children working as Domestic Servants in the homes of their own classmates. In continuation of the survey taken, the children convened an awareness programme in school on eradication of Child Labour and helping them to join schools.
A skit on Child Labour by the students unveiled the hardships that little children like themselves undergo when employed as menial workers. It also taught students how to be of help to such underprivileged children.
They sang the song “People over the world”
expressing their unity with the poor and oppressed children of the society. A Choreography on the song “Another Day in Paradise” left its ineffaceable mark in the children’s hearts.
The programme was indeed meaningful, teaching the students to be instruments in eradicating social evils against little children like themselves. At Montfort, students are thus taught to take up the responsibility of building a world where one can find justice, equality and fraternity.
Aids Awareness
Aids awareness seminars were conducted for the students of Std. IX and X. Sessions were held separately for the girls and the boys. Through PowerPoint presentations the ways in which the disease spreads and the methods of control were explained. Awareness was given to the students at the right time, falling under the age group 14 – 15, the target group. At the end of the session children were asked to put forth their queries and their doubts were clarified.
Children learnt to protect themselves from such treacherous diseases and also gained confidence in leading a safe and healthy life.
Civic Sense Kindled Through Writing Skills
At Montfort Social responsibility and Civic sense are kindled by encouraging students to share their ideas in “Voice Your Views column in the daily “The Hindu”. Some of their views were even published. Apart from this children were also persuaded to participate in online quizzes in Science and Environmental Studies, motivating them to preserve Mother Nature.
MMS has thus adopted a creative way to develop the writing skills of students while teaching them to be responsible citizens.
Celebration of the International Women’s Day
MMS celebrated International Women’s Day during a special programme held in school. Mr. Elango, Advocate and Montfortian was the Chief Guest and Sr. Aniceta and Sr. Alexis from Angur Sadhan were the special guests. Children prayed to God for the women in the world to shine his light of love, joy and hope on them. A woman plays many roles in life. She plays the role of a loving daughter, a caring sister, an understanding wife, and a sacrificing mother. Apart from these, she also has the strength to be a clever student, a kind teacher, a competent business woman, an innovative entrepreneur, and a wise leader.The students recited an emphatic
poem on the strengths of women, bringing on stage some of the great women like Mother Theresa, Indira Gandhi, Barkha Dutt, Arundathi Roy and Sudha Chandran. Children also performed colourful, lively dances to mark the day as a day of festivity and celebrations. The guests appreciated and congratulated the students for putting up a meaningful programme.
The children were taught the Right to Equality and to respect members of all genders without discrimination.
UNO Day
The UNO day was celebrated on the 24th of October. Std. VI organized the programme. They brought out the importance of this humanitarian organization. The 10 Millennium Resolutions for the upliftment of humanity were colourfully depicted through a tableau.
Children learnt the attributes of freedom, equality, solidarity with those who suffer, tolerance, respect for nature, peace, security and disarmament.
Oil Pulling
The members of the staff and students at Montfort had the opportunity of learning Oil pulling Therapy. Dr. Gandhidas, a regular practitioner and propagator of oil pulling therapy explained the benefits of this simple, but valuable technique. Oil pulling just involves swishing oil inside the mouth for 20 minutes and spitting it out every morning, before eating anything. It absorbs toxins and cures ailments like headaches, bleedy gums, leukemia, as well as acne, digestive problems, and kidney disease. Oil pulling gives softer skin, better sleeping habits, and a higher boost of energy throughout the day. At the end of the session free sachets of Idhayam sesame oil were given for trial. Through this
seminar, ways to lead a healthier, disease
free and more active life was taught.
The staff and students benefited out of this seminar as it was an eye opener to an ancient remedy. They also came to know that keeping themselves healthy was an easy task.
Humour Hour
Bearing in mind the increasing tension children experience with regard to syllabi and social encumbrances, MMS decided to give the children a break from their daily routine and make them laugh for a while through “Humour Hour” – A Special Programme. Children imitated comedians and comical characters and put up fun-filled skits, mimicries, riddles, jokes and dances. Dr. T V S Padmaja, Principal, Valliammal College for Women, graced the occasion. She congratulated all the participants and appreciated the School and the Principal for giving the children such a rare opportunity.
This laughing therapy made the children realize the importance of humour. They were
made to understand that the 7th Sense that is ’Sense of Humour’ helps make a mountain into a mole hill.
Educational Tours
Montfort organizes educational tours for students once a year. The trip may vary from 3 to 5 days. Children are taken to visit historical places and places that are noted for their beauty, wildlife, trade, etc. Delhi, Agra, Mysore, Bangalore and Visakhapatnam are some of the places that the students have visited. Apart from these long trips the school also arranges a day’s outing for them to relax and refresh themselves. They spend their day out in theme parks and while they enjoy their day out, they also learn the physics involved in the mechanism of the rides.
Educational trips are indeed enriching and educative that opens the eyes and the mind into natural phenomena and beauty and into modern technologies and their uses.
Career Guidance for Std. IX Students
Life and career are one’s own adventures. To make them both enjoyable one needs to know his or her preferences and make choices accordingly.
MMS, together with Junior Achievement India - an organization that integrates India through intelligence, organized a career guidance workshop for the students of Std. IX. Volunteers from Cognizant conducted the 5 day seminar in 3 batches. In the first session children were made aware of what work is all about differentiating it from career, where Career is our Goal in life, while work is what we do to achieve it. In the second session children were taught the division of labour involved in
bringing a product into market through a PowerPoint presentation of the production of Chocolate. In the third session was about “SEEK” – Skill, Education, Experience and Knowledge, the basic parameters required to be fulfilled by a person for any job.
In the fourth session, the term ‘VISTA’ i.e. Value, Interest, Strength, Talent and Attitude was explained. VISTA helps to choose one’s career. The fifth and final session was a review of all that was said and done during the previous four sessions. Students were asked to fill in feedback forms and submit to the volunteers. The volunteers were happy that the students were very cooperative and highly interactive. At the end of the seminar students were given certificates of participation and handouts that contain opportunities that are available in different fields as a guide to choose their career.
It was indeed a useful seminar for the students of Std. IX helping them to work towards their goal in life at the right time. Students were made aware of job opportunities that exist. They also learnt to interact with the resource persons usefully.
Inclusive Education
MMS had the opportunity of participating in an inter-cultural dialogue, called the “Mondialogo Contest” conducted by UNICEF along with Daimler. In this contest a team of Six students in the age group 14+ along with a supervising teacher from MMS was paired with another team called the “Green Crocodile”, a school in Georgia to have inter-cultural dialogue and at the end of their dialogue for about 3 months, both teams together submitted a project of their choice “Integration of Differently-abled in Mainstream schools” i.e. “Inclusive Education”. The outcome of the project was a documentary film of 15 minutes duration.
The documentary talks about Child Rights as the fundamental freedoms and the inherent
rights of all human beings below the age of 18. These rights apply to every child, irrespective of the child's, race, colour, sex, creed or other status including disabilities.
And they are:
• the right to survival
• the right to protection
• the right to participation
• the right to development – i.e. to education, care, leisure and recreation
If one has to ask the question “Do all children enjoy these rights?” the answer, as we all know is certainly negative. Not all rights are enjoyed by all children especially the differently abled.
Through this project, the “Montfort Team” at Chennai and the “Green Crocodile Team” at Georgia have come together to address one issue faced by the differently abled, “The denial of the right to education in Main stream schools” and to find a solution for this issue.
The first step in addressing this issue was to meet people who are directly associated with the differently abled and get their opinion on Inclusive Education. So, the team visited some of the special schools in Chennai for the differently-abled and interviewed the heads and other members of these institutions.
The heads of the special schools unanimously agreed that the Differently-abled children must study in Main stream schools along with other normal children. Some of the teachers working in special schools felt that awareness must be given to the teachers, students and parents of the mainstream schools to treat the differently-abled as normal people entitled to all rights as other normal children. The differently-abled students also gave their opinion that they would be better off in Mainstream schools that offer a competitive environment, helping them to cope with the competitive world outside.
Life is not a bed of roses for these special children especially when they are not accepted, and when people pose a lot of limitations. Some of the parents and teachers of the Mainstream schools felt that special children need special care and so they need to study only in special schools. They also felt that Inclusive Education may be harmful for the growth and development of normal students.
Handicap by definition is the inability of a person to do something. Every individual is handicapped in one way or the other. Though we call ourselves normal, we too have a lot of handicaps. We are totally handicapped when it comes to understanding the needs of the physically and mentally challenged. It is time that we realized it.
This problem can be rectified by beginning to accept them as they are, as any other normal human being. Once we do that, integrating them in Mainstream schools becomes easy. All mainstream schools will be special schools where all, the normal and the physically and mentally challenged can study together. The differently-abled will no longer suffer isolation. Life will be a lot better and happier when there is equality and justice for all.
Through this project children learnt to interact with people of another country. They learnt to communicate online, sharing their culture with the people of the world. They learnt to approach people, interview them and to work for a good cause such as Inclusive Education. Thus, they also became socially aware of the right of the special (differently-abled) people.
