Established in the year 1964, ‘Rotary Institute for Children in Need of Special Care’ is a Charitable Society, functioning in Trivandrum, Kerala, working for training mentally challenged children. With a great legacy of providing training to more than 1200 children who are in need of special care, the Rotary Institute educates and trains the mentally challenged children, so as to make them useful in society.
The institute is functioning in a premises constructed over 40 cents of Land leased from Government of Kerala. The building structure of the school consists of three blocks having an area of 12000 Sq.ft for School Premises and Hostel facilities which was constructed 50 years ago. Maintenance and alteration of these building are being carried out with the support of NGOs and individuals who are interested in humanity and philanthropic activities. The Institute is also providing transportation facility to the Students and the expenses of that are also being met out contributions given by such individuals and organisations.
We are currently providing training to 170 students who are mentally challenged and belong to weaker section of the society and also extending boarding facility to them free of cost. The annual expenditure budget of the Institute is Rs. 67,00,000/-(Rupees Sixty Seven Lakhs Only) approximately and those expenses are being met partially through the Grant-in-Aid of Government of India and partially through the donations given by NGO’s and Individuals. As the Government aid is limited to about 40 % of the actual expenses the institute is finding it difficult to raise the balance to carry out the operations smoothly. Delay in obtaining sanctioned grant further compounds the problem.
Brief History of Rotary Institute
1964- 65: Conceived as a social service project when Rtn C.S.Sethuraman was President of the Rotary Club. Institute is registered as a Charitable Society
1965-74: Funds raised by donations from various sources. Government of Kerala leased 40 cents of land in Vazhuthacaud, in the heart of Trivandrum. The Institute became functional with skeleton staff.
1969-1970-74: The institute was housed in a rented building and in the horse stable of the palace in early seventies and there was a need to vacate this place. With substantial donation from the Kowdiar Palace of Rs.40,000/-, foundation of the building was laid by Princess KarthikaThirunal Lakshmi Bayi on 04 December 1969.President Rtn C.R.R Varma flew to Delhi and persuaded Government of India and with the kind support of Mr. Ramadas, Secretary, Social Welfare, Government of India got donation of Rs.1.0 lakh for the building fund. The building was opened in 1974. The first dignitary to visit was Mother Theresa (now Saint and Bharat Ratna) founder of the Missionaries of Charity now famously and internationally known as the “Saint of Calcutta”.
1978-79: An Academician Dr.A.S. Narayana Pillai, former Principal of Womens’ College took over as full time Director. A Residential Wing was activated with a few hostellers. An Advisory Committee of academicians, doctors and others was formed to support the management. Rtn. Rama Varma of the Travancore Royal Family became Secretary of the Institute.
1974-78: A single Training block was completed partitioned as class room and play area. It was expanded and upgraded with multi-storey hostel block, cook-house, dining hall etc progressively. The new building was inaugurated by Rotary International President Rtn. William R Robbins on 11 September 1974. . Faculty had been appointed to start with, which expanded over the years. A few staff for teaching including Mrs. Jalajamma joined the faculty, Mrs. Lalitha G. Nair as Office Staff (and after 38 long years of dedicated service retired as Administrator in 2015.)
1978: Government of India recognizes the institute for its social service and sanctions an annual grant which met roughly half the annual outlay needed. Rtn Amy Boyd from Ireland came over as a visiting faculty and also donated Rs.50,000/- from her Club to the Institute. The Institute thus got international recognition.
1983-87: Liberal donations from Inner Wheel Club and other sources, due to efforts of Rtn Capt T.K.R Nair enabled addition of one more floor to the building which was named as the Inner wheel Rotary Hall. With the assistance of Rotary Clubs of Belgium, through efforts of Rtn Jacques Manshoven a Book Binding Centre was createdwhich was inaugurated by Princess Gouri Lakshmi Bayi in 1985-86.
1982-87: Mela Committee of Netherlands gave financial assistance to create a Speech Therapy Unit and was inaugurated by Inner Wheel International President Mrs. Frit Fjellander on 15 Jan ’83. Ms Amy Boyd from Ireland, an expert teacher for hearing impaired and who was working in Chennai from early sixties was in touch with the Institute. She came over and established a unit for teaching deaf children. This separate unit was made independent a few years later. The Institute was grouped into Nursing, Trainable, Teachable and Pre-vocational for teaching and training purposes. There was exchange of faculty and students from various institutions for study and training for mutual benefit. To tide over financial constraints the State Social welfare Board sanctioned annual sum of Rs.5, 000/- for three years. In 86-87 Central government granted Rs.2.11 lakhs for building purpose over and above the normal annual grant.
1984-2002: It was a period when the Institute made great strides in all areas. The 12 year stint of Rtn.Augustine Mathew Kayyalakkakom, affectionally called“Mathan”, as Secretary from 1990 onwards saw a spurt in the activities and services of the Institute during which he organized considerable funding from his own and other sources. International funding from Rotary Clubs of Belgium flowed in for further improvement of the building complex. Introduction of school uniform, programme for training of teachers as Special Educators for mentally challenged children, Children welfare measures like excursions etc were organized.Mrs.Jalajamma who was the first to be deputed for training became the first Principal in this period and the vocational service was headed by Ms. Mothi K Habeeb, Vice Principal who later became Principal. Mathan introduced Annual School Day with sports, games, dramatics, songs, etcwhich was hosted annually by Trivandrum Club since then. Mathan was at helm of affairs giving a new direction to the Institute till 2002.
1990-91: The Institute had completed 25 years of service. Silver Jubilee celebrations were chaired by Princess AswathyThirunal Lakshmi Bayi of the erstwhile Travancore Royal family who were closely associated with the Institute. The number of students touched 146 including 75 residential wards, both genders more or less in equal numbers. The teaching and training staff members were deputed for advanced studies and workshops on Mental Retardation in various institutes like Central Institute of Mental Retardation under Fr Felix, courses organized by Department of Social Justice, State Handicapped Persons Welfare Corporation, Nirmala Sadan Muvattupuzha attached to NIMH, Bala Vihar at Trivandrum and Bal Vikas Madras as a major step toward upgrading teaching and training methods. A substantial sum of Rs.1,00,000/- from Mathan and associates, Rs. 7,000/- from others apart from Rs.25,000/- from Inner Wheel Club Trivandrum for the Children Park came in this period. For the first time Trivandrum Club hosted Onam celebrations for the children with an appropriate “Ona Sadya” which became a regular feature in the ensuing years. The training was in functional academics, functional arithmetic, prevocational training in tailoring, book binding, cooking, gardening and craft works apart from physical exercise and training.
1991-92: With a strength of around 160 and increased hostellers, 5 specially trained teachers were deployed to look after the residential wing. 55 Teacher Trainees from BalSevika Training Centre, Trivandrum underwent teaching practice at the institute from 19 February to 20 March ’92 thus opening a system of skill development. Brig N.S.Bains and Col Vijayaraghavan of the NCC Directorate extended their NCC premises near the Institute for Physical Training of students During the year Government grant of Rs.2,85,000/-, Ra.1,00,000/- from Mathan family, Rs.15,000/- from Staff and 34,000/- from others totaling Rs.4,34,000/ was received.
1992-93: We had sports and athletics coach Sri Suresh to train the students. In the Special Olympics of YWCA at Kollam, the contingent of the Institute was adjudged the best in March Past. 39 children participated in the South Zonal Meet of Special Olympics at LB Stadium Kollam and won 30 gold, 21 silver and 30 bronze medals which was a signal achievement. A few teachers attended a training programme in Mithra Niketan, Vellanad to observe new teaching methods. Dental screening and check-up of the students was held by the Dental College, Trivandrum. The institute had a large number of visitors this year. Donald Roberts of Missionaries of Charity ( founded by Mother, now Saint Teresa), Teachers from Tata Special School at Munnar, H. Manniktan, Minister from Maldives, two visitors from Sarvodaya Colombo and Mr. Donald Nobles, Career Coordinator of Special Education, Martin Van Buren High School, Queens Village, New York. The much needed renovation of furniture was done of cots, benches, tables and chairs etc at a cost of Rs. 1.44 lakhs out of which Rs.0.52 lakhs was government grant and balance Rs.0.92 lakhs met from Rotary Club / Institute. The institute received Rs.3.52 lakhs as central grant and 2.08 lakhs as donation (Rs.1.0 lakh from Mathan) and balance from Staff and others.
1993-94: The strength of wards in the institute has risen to 157 including 67 hostellers. 33 students from the institute participated in the All Kerala Special Schools Cultural Meet 1994 organised by the YMCA, Ernakulum. 94 schools had participated in the event. Solo song, group music, solo dance, group dance, elocution, mimicry, fancy dress etc were amongst the numerous items in the competition. Dr. D.K.Menon, Director National Institute for Mental Health visited the institute. Charles M.C. Murray, and group from Webster USA visited the Institute. During the year central government grant of R.3.07 lakhs was received.
1994-95: In the Special Olympics National Games 1995 in Jan ’95, at the LB Stadium Hyderabad organized by National Institute for Mental Health, 4 students Viz: Rudran, Kum Shylaja, Kum Radhika and Shameem participated and were recipients of Gold, Silver and Bronze medals.
1995-96: The Parent-Teachers Association functioning in the institute for a number of years was registered under the Travancore-cochin Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies Regulation Act 1955 as No.775/95. While giving the PTA an official status, the objective was to improve facility for mentally retarded children in the institute. The President of the association was from amongst the parents with the Principal as the Secretary with total 15 members forming the executive committee selected from parents and teachers. The National Cadet Corps helped in various activities, physical training etc. The Hearing Impaired unit was shifted to a rented building and made independent of the Institute. Central grant of Rs.5.70 lakhs was received during the year.
1996-97: The PTA constructed a flag mast and for the first time this mast was used for ceremonial unfurling of the national flag on Independence Day 1996. Pre-vocational training in Incense Packing on behalf of a company was brought in by MsMothi K. Habeeb in-charge of the pre-vocational classes. The remuneration from the company given to the children as and when they leave. Central grant of Rs. 7.48 lakhs was received during the year.
1997-98: The strength of wards stood at 150 including 77 boarders. The Students participated in the Industrial Trade Fair dance programme at the Trivandrum Club. In the World Disability Day sports, the students of the institute won many laurels and prizes. Rtn Jacques Manshoven of Rotary Club of Trivandrum arranged for donation from Rotary Clubs of Belgium for providing mosaic flooring in the first floor of the institute. A matching grant was given by members of our Rotary Club. Central grant of Rs.7.57 lakhs for 1996-97 was received during the year.
1998-99: In the India Trade Fair foundation competitions held in Trivandrum club, in the drawing competition students of the institute won prizes and merit certificates. In the dance competitions in the same event, Jijo Krishnan of the institute won first prize in Break Dance competition competing against normal children. It is highly creditable as this boy was runner up in the same item the previous year. National Day of Mentally Retarded was observed in December with sports and cultural events. Mr. L.K.Gupta, Secretary Ministry of Welfare, Government of India visited the Institute on 28 August 1998. Soon after that the central governments grant of Rs. 7.56 lakhs was received for 1997-98. There were many dignitaries from abroad visiting the institute. Thial Howard, Group Student Exchange Member from Rotary District 7210 New York visited the Institute and was all appreciation for service being rendered. John and Helene Smith from Kent, UK also visited and was over awed.
1999-2000: With a total strength of 154 students including 78 residential children, all below 16 years of age, the institute had 39 staff members headed by the Principal. In the vocational training sector, the children were being trained in screen printing, tailoring, book binding, chalk making and paper cover making, the last two introduced in the year. The children were categorized according to age and functional level into 18 sections in 5 levels comprising preparatory (6), Primary (5), Secondary(2),prevocational (1) and vocational (4) , a system started in preceding years and updated and upgraded as we went along. The year saw a spurt in curricular and extracurricular activities. It was recognized always that for the special children, both mental and physical activities and education is a must to bring them, as much as practicable, to mainstream. In the Zonal Special Olympics conducted in January 2000 at the Chandrasekharan Nair Stadium wherein four districts took part, our Institute bagged the championship trophy presented by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and this achievement is considered as an unforgettable achievement in the history of the Rotary Institute. In the Zonal Meet Special Olympics at Kozhikode the wards of the institute displayed good performance. In the Kerala State Special Youth Festival, our contingent came third in music, all participants bagging Rs.100/- a medal and certificate. In the India Trade Fair Foundation cultural festival our students bagged the third in cultural activities. All the above indicate a steady march towards normalcy and inclusiveness. The year saw refresher courses attended by teachers, visit by staff and trainees of NIMH and other institutions. The institute received a grant of RS.7.58 lakhs from the Centre for 1998-99.
2000-2001: The millennium year started with a managing committee of only Rotarians and included two members of Travancore Royal family, R.R.Varma and HH Princess Gouri Lakshmi Bayi. The staff strength had increased to 40. Independence Day, Onam and Gandhi Jayanthi were celebrated. A Dental Screening camp was held for students by the Dental College and health check up by Rotary Hospital. While the Rotary Club undertook maintenance and repairs of the hostel building, the PTA constructed three toilets for the complex. The team from the institute came runner-up in the district level Olympics in Dec 2000, first prize winner in the India Trade Fair foundation cultural programme, first prize and rolling trophy winner in the Kerala Special School Youth festival. 99 B.Ed students from National Teachers Training College visited to observe the educational system for children in need of special care.
2001-2002: Parents attended awareness programme under the Disability Act 1955. Parent counseling was done and the parents were asked to write down the progress of their children. This will be a useful document for monitoring progress and planning further training and education. In the state Special Olympics in November 2001, the institute came up in second place and many of the students got selected for the national meet in November 2002 at New Delhi. After district level screening, Master Jijo Krishnan of the institute participated in the State Level Special Youth Festival and stood second in painting and drawing and won B grade. This boy also won the second prize in the break dance in the Indian trade Fair Foundation festival. Parental education was conducted under the auspices of NIMH. The students and teachers were also taken on a tour of the famous resort of Thekkady. These outings were sponsored by Mathan. The PTA presented a beautiful brass Anna Vilakku (Lamp) for ceremonial and traditional inaugural of various festivities in the institute. A team of Rotarians from Rotary District 6440 of Chicago USA visited the institute and expressed their happiness at the service being rendered to the cause of special children.
2002-2004: This service was continued by his successor Rtn P.Prashant. A London based NRI A.J.K. Fernandez donated Rs.1.0 lakh for maintenance of the institute. The urgent need of new Kitchen Block, toilet etc became a reality with concerted efforts by Rtns. P. Prashant, K.C. Chandrahasan, R.Kesavan, Pankaj C.Govind, Jacques Manshoven and a host of others and completed with an outlay of more than Rs. 8.0 lakhs. The block was inaugurated by popular singer Dr.K.J.Yesudas, who himself made a donation of Rs.25,000/-.
Rtns. P V George and NRC Nair worked tirelessly and managed to get an one - time grant from the Government of Kerala for Rs.10 Lakhs and with that they bought a small bus on July 2009 which is still in use.
2011-12: A scheme called Lend-a-Hand of sponsorship of a child at Rs.12,000/- for an year was commenced at the initiative of Rtn. K.V. Nair which still is our flagship fund generation scheme, augmenting other donations.
2010-13: Rtn KV Rajagopal, came in as the Secretary of the Institute. He had a tenure of more than 4 years i e 2013-14 (and 2015-16) during which modernization of infrastructure, improvements in teaching methods and facilities were introduced. The support from the Thomas Kailat family Trust in creation of much needed toilet blocks, improved and new class rooms was very well received and appreciated. The financial and infrastructural support from Mr. Mathew Thayil and Rtn. Sally Mathew in the creation of additional infrastructureand operational needs was a redeeming feature and their support continues unabated to this day. Financial support from Rtn KurienKalathil family to provide toilet blocks, bore well, improved class rooms and hostel etc have helped in upgrading and modernising the Institute.
Rtn M C Jacob requested the chairman SBI, Shri Pratip Choudhary for support and SBIdonated a second bus costing Rs.12 Lakhs in September 2013.
2013-14: 2014 marked 50 years of the Institute. A Golden Jubilee Endowment Scheme was mooted to create a corpus fund and took off. We have plans to expand it as another flagship project. The Amount mobilized as on June 2020 under this scheme is more than Rs.26 Lakhs.
2014-16: The building complex was renovated in 2015-16 by addition of floors, modernizing rooms, toiletsetc vocational hall etc at a cost of around Rs.9.0 lakhs by specific donations from Business houses, Banks, Rotarians and others. Specific mention of donations from Rtn Sally Mathew, M/S Terumo Penpol through Mr.Balagopal and Rtn.Padmakumar , AnuradhaBalram, Sami George and Q Burst amongst a multitude of others who had made the project a reality. Under the active involvement and initiative of Rtn MC Jacob, the President, considerable donations for the institute and creating infrastructure and facilities with involvement from State Bank of India and State Bank of Travancore and others came in easing the infrastructure and operational facilities. Eg supply of mattresses for the hostel costing Rs.2.50 Lakhs, donation of Rs. 4.00 Lakhs for purchase of machines for vocational centre. The vocational centre was constructed above the new toilet block by M/s Trinity Engineering College in 2015 and sponsored by Dr. Thomas Alexander, Chairman. A Short film of 40 minutes was shot and sponsored by SBT.
In 2015 a room was designated as a sensory center which was equipped with donations from Rotary Club of Chistlehurst U.K and their Parish. It was inaugurated in August 2015.
Cultural, Sports and other Activities: The school has been participating in district, and state level sports, cultural and arts festivals for children with disability and has won laurels and accolades. Prashant Chandran, 18 years, who was a student of this institute for many years, with speech, hearing, visual and bodily impairment has won national and international recognition for his talent in predicting day-date-year relationship of 10000 years with accuracy and is finding place in national achievement/talent record and is on way to become part of Asian record. Disability, though sad, can be overcome to a great extent and that is what the Institute trains children in.
The Institute has an enviable record of job placements too. The Trivandrum Club and Shri Mulam Club have together absorbed 7 students as part of their kitchen, gardening and housekeeping staff. There are others who are working in petrol pumps, magic planets, companies like Terumo Penpol etc.
Rtn. Bijoy P Pulipra took over as secretary to the institute in June 2016. He managed to tap CSR funds from a number of companies like Envestnet (Rs.4,50,000/-), Navigant India(Rs.1,75,000/-) curricular software(Rs.2,00,000/-) etc. and obtain donations in cash and kind over the next 4 years.
Rtn. Chandrahasan mooted the idea of a Corner Stone fund of Rs.50 lakhs to tide over the problem caused by the delay in getting grants from the Government. He himself contributed Rs.10.35 lakhs and mobilized Rs.5 lakhs more. SBT contributed Rs.4 Lakhs. Other members have also chipped in with Rs.4 Lakhs. So far Rs.26.49 lakhs have been mobilized for this fund as on June 2020 against which an overdraft of Rs.16.70 lakhs has been taken.
We are still facing financial crisis due to the non receipt of the grant from Govt. of India for the Year 2020-21 & 2021-22.