An appeal for ideas, comments , feedback, suggestions and some contacts.

To put it across bluntly I need your help, and nope not asking for money, or any funds or any financial support.

I have recently quit my job at the British High Commission to focus my energies on an initiative taken by my Ma, an organization named 'Purti'. It is An organization for Slow Learners, children with Learning Difficulties, Autistic (with higher ability), Attention Deficit with Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Spasticity with academic abilities, other developmental disabilities with Educable Abilities.

How did this school start?
'Purti' was started by a lady named Ms Ravinder Arora [my mother]. 14 years ago, my mother pulled out her learning disabled daughter out of St Thomas and scouted the city for special schools, but she just could not find any that catered to her daughter as such. Most schools mixed the children who had learning difficulties and children who were completely and utterly mentally challenged. If you interact or look at the children that Purti has , you will realize that they are just like any other normal child but with certain learning difficulties. My mother was always of the opinion that there should be a dedicated center for these children where the focus is on academics rather than masala grinding or candle making. She did not want to send her daughter to schools where she would be accompanying children who were even more severely challenged than her.

This can be better understood through a recently published article, It was printed last Tuesday in HT live north delhi. It is attached with this post

After her struggle for over 3 years, she decided it was time to open one on her own.
And thus, 'Purti' was born. She taught her daughter in her own center, made her clear National open school examinations. Aastha cleared NTT i.e. Nursery teacher training. Today Aastha herself teaches in Purti , and caters to children who are faced with the same situation as she did 10 to 12 years ago.

My ma's husband[ i.e. my father] expired when i was 2 years old, Aastha was 4 years old at that time. Since then , Ma has managed the household, the center, has improved and helped hundreds of lives through the center , has taken care of a child with special needs and has provided nourishment and care for me. It has been a 13 year long battle Shreya. The center till date has not received a single grant, whereas other setups solely only run on massive aids from abroad.[not that there is anything wrong in that]. Purti till date is the only center in Delhi /NCR that caters EXCLUSIVELY to children with learning difficulties but with educable abilities.

Regarding success stories, over 40 children have graduated from the center i.e. cleared their national school of open schooling 10th and 12th examinations, its no small feat. In fact it is huge.
Rushi gulati a student at the school recently won a gold medal at the Beijing special olympics, Ragini, a former student who completed her 10th and 12th from the school is now a special educator herself and is an athlete member of the board of directors of at the special Olympics. Ekant Anand, is a computer expert now who knows base level assembly language unknown to even computer engineering graduates, and yet when he came to center from spring-dales Dhola Kuan , his parents had lost all hope and faith. Rajdip Singh represented India at the special olympics in cricket and was one of the 7 athletes from all around the world to be featured at Beijing. And there are many many more, students who are pursuing hotel management now or handling their fathers business.

Its a story of a single parent who has fought long and hard, who went out and created something that was the need of the hour of hundreds of people and its a story about a mother and her daughter. It has been 13 years now and the center is struggling, and an excellent and a genuine place will go down without people knowing that something like this even existed, i think it deserves to be heard. At-least my ma's and sister's story and the center's story plus its successes, which the parents can attest to, the genuinely of my claims can be attested by several very well qualified and eminent psychologists.

The place is struggling, struggling because of financial support, struggling because of lack of any recognition. We recently moved out of a small LIG flat and moved to new premises where we are paying 1 lakh INR as rent per month. We did this to provide children a better place and also because a lot of admission queries were going away because of the tag of a 'small place'. To complicate the situation further, the government has made inclusive education compulsory i.e. all children with any disability will remain in the school no matter what. It is not as if Purti has not placed kids back in regular school ever, but in regular school ,they get bullied, don't understand anything yet the school keeps them because of revenues.

I can say with pride that instead of using these kids for revenue during diwali or Christmas , we have genuinely worked with them and made settle their lives.
You may be wondering why my mother has never applied for grants or done any marketing? Well, she has never had the time and neither did she ever want fame, but due to lack of recognition or any reward even she is tired and wants to shut down the center. She never had any person whom she could depend on to do any marketing or raise funds.

That's the gist of the story, so why have I posted this here? And how can you help?
Firstly , you can check out Purti's recently created Facebook page at

Purti - A Centre for Self Reliance [Special Education School] | Facebook

You can like it ; that is if you really like the page and the pictures and share it further on your profiles.

Secondly,
Your ideas, feedback, suggestions as to how to market this place, how to get support, how to get some media coverage.

If you know anyone in outlook , india today, and hindi or english daily who wishes to cover a genuine story please let me know. If you know anyone in Dilli Aaj tak , NDTV metronation or any channel, please let me know.

If you know anyone in a particular CSR practice of any firm or your organization , please let me know.

If you know someone who wants to help out a genuine cause, let me know again. I know there are a lot of influential people on the forum specially on the super car and imports section, if you are friends with anyone there and think they can help out let me know.

I need your ideas, your suggestions, your help to make this place survive and give back to a lady whom i owe everything to.
In short just let me know :)

[P.S. My post history is too short and I Post less, but I am always lurking around the forum as a guest. ]

Originally Posted by Kairalee (Post 2179723) Very inspiring indeed! Ive just shared it on my Facebook profile. Have you tried talking to corporates in the NOIDA area and have their employees volunteer as well as spread awareness about this initiative? Many companies have what is called a "Volunteer Time Off" for the employees, where they are encouraged to voluteer for a social cause.

Originally Posted by thewhiteknight (Post 2180923) Heyy, great initiative. Tata Interactive Systems, an elearning company based out of Mumbai, has LD as its CSR. They have been doing it for years now and are tied up with a hospital/school in Chembur, Mumbai. They also have an annual seminar where they call people proficient in the field for these seminars. I used to work there and boy, they are dedicated and serious about this. I am not sure how and if this information could help you since they are based in Mumbai but if you like PM and i will send you the person to contact in the organization who heads the CSR initiative. Alrightey, i found a link. TATA Interactive Systems: The TLDF 2006: A Report Let me know. Sorry, just realized it is a link from 2006 and the guy who posted it doesnt work there anymore but nevertheless, i think i can point you in the right direction for this company.

Originally Posted by manaa45 (Post 2182271) Hi Reading about your family, Please accept my heartfelt appreciation towards your family's endeavour. I can understand the feeling of pride you must be having to have such a great mother, who single handedly took up this challenge to make a difference in her daughter's life. Kudos to her. I will definately try to spread the word and see if somebody can be of any help. All the best to the team of Purti. Mansi

Originally Posted by WanderNomad (Post 2185058) First of all my salute to your mom for this endeavor. Corporates these days, as a part of their social responsibility, are more than ready to help NGOs. Let me get in touch with my company's HR and see if something can be done. I will also speak to friends and family to have their views on the same.

Originally Posted by G-BoleroBoy (Post 2185480) Kudos to your mom. I would suggest that reaching out to Infosys foundation (Sudha Murthy) and Azim premji foundation can also help. Premji foundation is very keen to promote education and does take up many initiatives. I have read many of his statements emphasizing education or under privileged an needy..

Originally Posted by ch.nathan (Post 2185577) Excellent work by your Mom, and kudos to You too. To leave British High Commission and involving in such endeavour is really inspiring. clap:clap: Such deeds need a lot of passion and you guys definitely will have a sense of achievement in life. Special education and Autism definitely needs a lot of awareness in India. I will take all efforts to spread it. My wife is also an Autism Therapist and a Special educator. And we have an exclusive thread on Autism here on TBHP: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...sm-thread.html

Originally Posted by Spectre (Post 2185710) Salute to your mom! My best wishes for this noble effort. I will try to make this reach out, as much as I can Try reaching out to Shiv Nadar Foundation (HCL) who are into corporate philanthropy in education. Shiv Nadar Foundation - Home