So in 1997, Bhanumathi founded the Association for the Mentally Handicapped Adults (AMHA) in Thrissur district, Kerala. It began with a residential and daycare centre and a special school that provided physiotherapy, occupational therapy and vocational rehabilitation for free. Today, it attends to 32 mentally challenged people aged 12-52, mostly from destitute families. The AMHA also provides counselling to parents and guardians. A zoology professor with a post-doctoral degree in cancer biochemistry, Bhanumathi initially weathered a lot of scepticism. "My relatives scoffed at my decision," she recalls. Apart from her determination, what saw her through was the support of her husband E.B. Saleesh. Well before they were married, he had consented to her decision to pledge her life to the cause and never have her own children.
Most people that Bhanumathi approached for assistance couldn’t distinguish the mentally challenged from lunatics. "Nobody gave us a place," she says. Many futile pleas later, she finally began with three students in a classroom of the Ayyanthol Panchayat School and a taxi for the students to commute. Gradually, they moved to a rented accommodation at Punkunnam. A van was also donated by the Kerala Sangeetha Nataka Akademi. Now, they have a mini-bus, courtesy a well-wisher, and will soon move into their own school building. It has virtually been a brick by brick effort. After a television programme highlighted AMHA’s work in 2000, many came forward to help. They were able to purchase land and started work on a three-storeyed building. But due to financial constrains, the ground floor alone has taken five years to complete.
A typical day at the centre begins with yoga, followed by reading, writing and painting classes. Next comes vocational training, where the students make candles, incense sticks, detergent powder etc, sold through personal networks. The untiring efforts of AMHA’s office-bearers (all of whom have mentally challenged members in their families), and the staff comprising two special educators and four caretakers, have demonstrated that students do respond to love and approval. Which is why special students like Sunil, 24, the son of an alcoholic daily wage-earner, is today a helper on a bus. Santhosh, 25, sexually molested three years ago, understands what he must guard against. Geetha, 42, is also among the 12 persons who stay at the centre. She helps in the kitchen, sings and refuses to go home. No celebration is complete without Binu, 24, who keeps the centre alive with his song and dance.
Despite a steady trickle of help, paucity of funds is as big a challenge as monthly expenses soar beyond Rs 20,000. Since AMHA’s inception, Bhanumathi has been putting in a bulk of her salary into bankrolling the centre and tending to her brothers. "We need better infrastructure, more trained teachers, clinical psychiatrists, speech therapists. Many of these special persons need protection from abusive elements around them. They can’t report abuse; their guardians cannot afford legal action," says Bhanumathi.
Contact AMHA at: ‘Ashirvad’, Karyattukara, Elthuruth PO., Thrissur—680611 (Kerala) Tel: (0487) 2363670/2381844 E-mail: amhaindia@yahoo.co.in
