The Raphael Family (Ryder Cheshire Foundation) have reported very difficult times in India as the country battles the Covid pandemic. Fortunately those at Raphael have been able to stay relatively safe.Friends of the Odd Bods continue an Odd Bods tradition of supporting disadvantaged children at the Raphael facility in Dehradun near the Himalayan foothills, and recently we issued a donation to assist with cyclone recovery at the Ryder Chesire facility in Timor.
We receive 6 monthly reports on our sponsored children at Dehradun, currently Sarthak, Abbas, and Asma (see below).
Covid has resulted in restricted schoolroom access for students, however we are pleased to hear that the connection with teachers continues.
SARTHAK:Sarthak lives with his parents and elder brother on the outskirts of Dehradun.
He is part of the residential service, but has not been able to return to school yet. He is partially dependant for his daily living skills.
He has been attending regular online classes where the focus of his training is on daily living skills and household skills. According to his teachers, Sarthak has been doing well at home.
Under supervision, he helps his parents with the domestic and household chores. Sarthak misses his friends, and wants to come back to school as soon as possible.
Sarthak and his parents tested positive to Covid recently, but have recovered well.
ABBAS:Abbas lives with his parents, three elder brothers, and a younger sisiter in Rajasthan. His Father owns a firecracker shop and his Mother is a housewife.
He is part of the residential service, but has not been able to return to school yet. He attends regular online classes where the focus of his training has been on his academic and domestic skills. In math, he is able to do double digit addition and can count up to 30.
He helps his Mother with the domestic chores. Presently he is learning to work with his Father in the shop during the evenings. According to his Father, after he turns 18, Abbas will work in the shop and help his Father with the manufacturing aspect.
ASMA:Asma is 12 years old now and has cerebral palsy. She lives in Dehradun with her family and they have remained safe and well during this time.
Her teacher has been in regular contact with her parents, and Asma attends online classes twice a week. Her training is currently focused on paper folding activities. She is also receiving physiotherapy sessions online. Her Physiotherapist suggested that she should indulge in bilateral activities *, which she is now implementing into her daily routine.
*Bilateral Activities can include things like squeezing a clothespin, playing with water squirt toys and pushing coins into the slot of a piggy bank.
Map showing location of Dehradun in Uttarakhand Province India.
