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Born in a small town of Raibarelli, young Juhi used to find it very disturbing the way her differently-abled brother was treated, but rather than feeling sad, she took a challenge not only to give her brother better life but to give a better world to every kid with special needs.
Our family had to move from Raibarelli to Lucknow in search of a proper school for my brother
It all started with the struggle that they had to go through because of her brother not getting accepted in the society. Our society was not ready enough to understand the needs of these kids; in reality, children with special needs require compassion and love, and above all, acceptance. Sadly, however what they end up receiving is exclusion from society because of their behavioral issues.The condition became so bad, that the family had to move from Raibarelli to Lucknow just to enroll the boy in a special school. This is when Juhi and her sister Bobby realized the need for a special school for kids with special needs. Every child has huge potential, every child is special but as long as we don’t provide these children with the right environment for them to freely learn, grow and explore, their potentials will never be revealed.
The journey to create an inclusive society for all kids was a huge challenge in itself
This prompted the girls to open a small school in Lucknow with just 10 children,but soon grew to be a registered not-for-profit, called I-Support Foundation, that works towards building an inclusive society. Their basic aim is to give every child the care, love and opportunity that they need.
It was a huge challenge for us to build awareness around the very concept of children with special needs. Our societies were not ready to help us or even understand the cause we were fighting for, leave aside the funding.
Innovative ideas and initiatives were taken by them to create awareness among parents as well as the society.
Juhi realized the need of the hour was spreading awareness first to people around and especially parents of differently-abled children. So along with her job in Bangalore, she started organizing awareness campaigns. She along with few volunteers started “A Cup of Thoughts”- a tea stall to raise funds for the cause. They had also started Hifazat – “Protecting the precious”- a workshop on awareness towards child abuse.
Now they have started a new initiative within this space : India’s 1st differently-abled App called Autism Care-ISF. It is the 1st time in India that an app for autism care has been introduced.
Through the app, I-Support Foundation connects Bangaloreans with a list of special schools, psychologists, a training center for parents and more features designed specifically for the differently abled among us. It is a noble idea of bringing the world one step closer so that no parent has to bear the pain of hunting around for the right support for their kids the way Juhi and her family had to do for their brother.
The recent initiative of I Support Foundation is a new campaign called “I am Autism Friendly” It is a beautiful idea of making the restaurants of Bangalore autism-friendly. Here autistic kids are given special care and attention like ground floor seating arrangements, priority services, art kit to keep them engaged till their food is served. Juhi believes in taking tiny steps to bring a huge change in society.
A residential program is what we need so that no kid is ever looked down upon
Now I Support Foundation a huge family of kids with special needs as well as underprivileged kids. Now they want to go ahead with a residential program for these special kids so that they can be taken care off, given full-time attention and they get a chance to realize their potential and work towards excelling in the varied field of life.
Items | Description | Per Month |
Acquiring the rented property | Deposit on Lease 3 years minimum | |
Rent | 40,000 | |
Maintainence | Electricity and Water bill/charges | 25,000 |
Fittings & Fixed Equipment | Almirahs,Flooring | |
Demolition/ Special Construction/ Remodel | Supportive Toilet Seat, Ramp | |
Mechanical/Electrical Utilities | Fans,Lights,Earthing | |
Furniture | Table, Chairs, Mats, Beds | |
Stationary | Activity kits, Pencil, Notebook, etc. | 20,000 |
Human Resource - Staff Salaries | 2 Special Educators - 20,000 ph (20,000*2) | 40,000 |
2 Physchologists - 30,000 ph (30,000*2) | 60,000 | |
1 Physiotherapists - 25,000 ph (25,000) | 25,000 | |
1 Carpenter - 20,000 ph (20,000) | 20,000 | |
1 Baking Teacher - 20,000 ph (20,000) | 20,000 | |
1 Sports Teacher - 20,000 ph (20,000) | 20,000 | |
1 Computer Teacher - 20,000 ph(20,000) | 20,000 | |
2 Clay Modelling, Art and Gardenning - 25000 ph(25,000*2) | 50,000 | |
1 Cook | 15,000 | |
1 First Aider/Physician | 20,000 | |
1 Security Guard | 15,000 | |
2 Care Takers - 15,000ph(15,000*2) | 30,000 | |
Vocational Centre(Tools,Equipments,Machinery) | Computers , CCTV | |
Projector | ||
Gym machines | ||
Xerox Machine | ||
Baking Items and Oven | ||
Carpentry unit machinery | ||
Artifical Garden area | ||
Wheel Chairs | ||
Water Purifier | ||
Fridge, Oven, Utensils | ||
Food | Expenses(Breakfast, Lunch, Evening Snacks, Dinner) | 50,000 |
Miscellaneous | Clothing , Wear & Tear, First Aid Kit, Medicines | 30,000 |
Total | 5,00,000 |
