Story Details

The New Life Hatim

Hatim is an orphan child with Downs Syndrome a mental retardation, He is 16 years old and was a street child before coming to the Blind Welfare Council. He was staying with his Aunti who is also suffering from mental illness. They both use to roam together in the streets of Dahod and eat anything by begging or picking up anything from the roads. They had filled their house with rubbish. We came to know about them from their relatives and we wanted to convince them to admit Hatim to the newly opened multi-handicap residential school managed by Blind welfare council at the Mandav road campus but, the relatives could not convince Hatim’s Aunti who was suffering with mental illness.

She did not want Hatim to go anywhere, even in school, which would further ruin Hatim’s life, but we were thinking about Hatim’s future and by all means we wanted to bring him to our school. After many very strenuously hard difficulties we succeeded in bringing Hatim with us and he was admitted to this school. All relatives and the neighbors of Hatim were very happy to know that he was to be admitted in the school as most of them were aware about Blind Welfare Council.

After two months of training at Blind Welfare Council pertaining to activities of daily living and some basic education, Hatim had almost forgot his Aunti and was very happy at the campus. All of sudden one day the Aunti rushed straight into Hatim’s classroom and asked him to go along with her in the same streets of Dahod as he had done before.

All the staff members were shocked as she did not know about this campus and she had come directly like this. We were going to be disappointed as if Hatim goes away with his Aunti because then all the hard work would be in vain. We were delighted and could not express our happiness when Hatim refused to go with his Aunti and said via facial expressions, “Please go! I don’t want to come with you.”

Hatim is an orphan child with Downs Syndrome a mental retardation, He is 16 years old and was a street child before coming to the Blind Welfare Council. He was staying with his Aunti who is also suffering from mental illness. They both use to roam together in the streets of Dahod and eat anything by begging or picking up anything from the roads. They had filled their house with rubbish. We came to know about them from their relatives and we wanted to convince them to admit Hatim to the newly opened multi-handicap residential school managed by Blind welfare council at the Mandav road campus but, the relatives could not convince Hatim’s Aunti who was suffering with mental illness.
She did not want Hatim to go anywhere, even in school, which would further ruin Hatim’s life, but we were thinking about Hatim’s future and by all means we wanted to bring him to our school. After many very strenuously hard difficulties we succeeded in bringing Hatim with us and he was admitted to this school. All relatives and the neighbors of Hatim were very happy to know that he was to be admitted in the school as most of them were aware about Blind Welfare Council.     
     After two months of training at Blind Welfare Council pertaining to activities of daily living and some basic education, Hatim had almost forgot his Aunti and was very happy at the campus. All of sudden one day the Aunti rushed straight into Hatim’s classroom and asked him to go along with her in the same streets of Dahod as he had done before.

All the staff members were shocked as she did not know about this campus and she had come directly like this. We were going to be disappointed as if Hatim goes away with his Aunti because then all the hard work would be in vain. We were delighted and could not express our happiness when Hatim refused to go with his Aunti and said via facial expressions, “Please go! I don’t want to come with you.”     

It has been about one year and Hatim’s performance in all areas is great. This is only the result of Hatim’s ability to understand the instructions given by the trainers and follow them. Hatim’s and our team member’s hard work have changed his life. Today, Hatim is one of the monitors, and a model for all others in the school. He has and continues to help other children with intellectual disabilities 

in all matters, even for eating food. He is extremely successful in sports as well. In the last State Special Olympics tournament held at Baroda he won Bronze Medal in Table Tennis.
In the residential school along with Hatim there are about 65 girls and boys who are getting trained for daily living, basic education and pre-vocational training. We are very much certain that after some period of time their lives will be changed for the better.
Like Hatim there are about other 120 children with intellectual disabilities who are taking direct training at the Mandav road campus.

     
It has been about one year and Hatim’s performance in all areas is great. This is only the result of Hatim’s ability to understand the instructions given by the trainers and follow them. Hatim’s and our team member’s hard work have changed his life. Today, Hatim is one of the monitors, and a model for all others in the school. He has and continues to help other children with intellectual disabilities in all matters, even for eating food. He is extremely successful in sports as well. In the last State Special Olympics tournament held at Baroda he won Bronze Medal in Table Tennis.    
 

In the residential school along with Hatim there are about 65 girls and boys who are getting trained for daily living, basic education and pre-vocational training. We are very much certain that after some period of time their lives will be changed for the better.
Like Hatim there are about other 120 children with intellectual disabilities who are taking direct training at the Mandav road campus.