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During our visit to India last year Dec 2011 we had planned to visit Amar Seva sangam. Our family along with my in-laws from Madurai planned for a tour to Kanyakumari via Tirunelveli and Courtrallam falls. When we were nearing Tenkasi we saw a board saying 5kms this way to Amar seva sangam. I asked the driver to take a sudden deviation and decided to visit Amar seva sangam first then proceed with the tour. Though we could not call Dr.S. Sumathi or Mr. Ramakrishnan ahead about our visit we were very warmly received and met Mr. Ramakrishanan, Mr. Sankara Raman without any appointments. We were guided by a staff to show us around the facility. Our girls Hritheekka and Harshitha were really amazed to see all the hand work done by the physically challenged people. We were really amazed to hear and witness the service and significant changes provided at the rehabilitation center for the physically and mentally challenged children and adults. We could also witness at the VOC center the training offered for the physcially challenged to become independent with the skill of making books, stitching, handwork and computer training. . We were very happy to meet our sponsored child Indira at the mentally challenged facility and the principal was very happy to share with us about her excellent performance at school and that she is being double promoted to Grade 2 for the coming year.
We have to mention about the tasty lunch offered at the centre even though we visited the centre without any appointment. The food was excellent and the Nippon barrier free catering facility was very clean and well maintained. We could see the care and training delivered by all the staff with full dedication , true love and happiness. Though the visit was very short for 3hours we could see the excellent care and training offered at the sangam. After our visit my in-laws were very much interested to offer voluntary time at this excellent facility as they felt that the place has some inner peace with clean green environment! ......NagaLakshmi Chinnakonda, Canada |
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It is a pleasure to be associated with Handi-Care Intl., offering service for the disabled at the prestigious Amar Seva Sangam (ASSA) in India. HCI, run by volunteers offers dedicated service at the lowest admin cost ever known.
My family and I had great pleasure in visiting ASSA in a beautiful village called “ Ayikudy” India and having the opportunity to mingle with the lovely children and staff. I was amused by the growth of this organization and the great service they are providing to the disabled of the South Asian accent. Children are very happy to be at ASSA and the opportunities they are given is limitless. Having a school in the building itself is such a great achievement and a bundle of opportunities for the kids. They are nurtured well keeping in mind their medical conditions and emotional conditions. The rehabilitation service that is organization provides them is of great help to these children as well. It is a proud accomplishment for everyone who has made this organization a success. I take pride in saying that I am a proud donor at Handi Care Intl., a reputable organization which touches many lives. It is our privilege to be able to do something to change the childrens' lives. God bless Amar Seva Sangam and all the children. The service this organization is doing is brilliant and we wish them our hearty congrats and hope you reach even more heights." Shajiraj Nadarajalingam President, Ideal Group of Companies, Toronto, Canada |
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On September 5th, 2011, I visited AMAR SEVA SANGAM ( ASSA) along with my aunt, Mrs. Sarojini Menon, and my daughter, Vidya. Although I had read comments on the website and heard from other visitors about the good work being done at the ASSA, I was taken aback when I personally experienced the wonderful atmosphere at the SANGAM. Mr. Shankar Raman and his staff welcomed us warmly and took the trouble and time to explain the purpose and goals of the organization thoroughly. We were given a comprehensive tour of the facility and witnessed the efforts being made to rehabilitate the physically and mentally challenged children and adults at the centre. The children, who either come from neighbouring towns or live in the SANGAM, are taught life skills to empower them in their quest for independence. Their improved self-esteem was evident in their willingness to demonstrate their skills: be it singing, talking or even in simple tasks like role playing daily life scenarios. The staff also showed extreme dedication, devotion, patience and diligence when working with the children and sometimes with their mothers. The facility is completely accessible to people with all kinds of disabilities and is clean and comfortable. We were also very impressed with the rehabilitation efforts and the results obtained at the Centre for Spinal Cord Injuries.
Though our visit was short (24 hours), we were so moved by the experience that we are determined and resolved to return and to try to increase public awareness and assistance for the good work being done at the SANGAM. …..Shanthi Menon, Toronto, Canada |
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“Visit to Amar Seva Sangam” by Srini Srinivasan
For a long time, Meena and I wanted to visit Amar Seva Sangam (ASSA), an organization supported by Handi-care International. But it did not materialize till this year. In January 2011, we were able to spend 8 days at ASSA; we had a wonderful time there with the kids there. We participated in a number of activities such as the Annual Day function and Annual Day Sports Meet of the Centre for Special Education, flag hoisting and morning prayers of the Integrated School, interacting and playing and travelling in a minivan to a nearby temple with a number of the children at ASSA, evening prayer songs by the children, having a number of meals with the children and others in ASSA canteen, visiting the various learning/activity centres and chatting with the staff. While we were thoroughly impressed with the way the handicapped children are being helped at ASSA to learn and get prepared for independent lives, our hearts were touched most by the Special Education children. Every time we were there at the Sangamam School, a number of the children came very near us, leaned on us and looked at our faces making eye contact and talking without talking; we felt moved by their looks seeking our love. We spent a long time with them. A number of physically handicapped children, just about 3-7 years old, were unable to walk; but that handicap did not stop them from managing on their own for cleaning themselves, joining others for their meals at the canteen and going to school. The images of a few of these children are permanently etched in our memories. These children were moving so fast like soccer balls bouncing on the floor and hopping on to the bench for meals and jumping on to the wagon which moved them to the school and outside as required. We urge everyone visiting India to spare some time to visit ASSA and stay at the guest house, if possible. We are sure you will be equally impressed, inspired by the handicapped children and the great organization lead by Mr. S. Ramakrishnan, Mr. S. Sankararaman, Dr. Sumathi and other staff and feel how much of a difference you can make for them even though we are far away. |
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…..Srini Srinivasan
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One of the main highlights of recent tour of India, Australia and New Zealand was the visit to Ayikkudy. Though we have read about the Amar Seva Sangam and indeed have been supporting it through Handicare International through the persistent efforts of Sulochana, it was her constant request to us to visit Ayikkudy in person that made us decide five days in mid-January 2010. Seeing is believing! The immediate impact some four hundred children who are disabled has on you is beyond words. They are so cheerful and vibrant and go about their daily activities it is an amazing sight. Within 15 minutes of our arrival, Sugantha and I were led to the school flag hoisting ceremony. It was then we had the multiple impacts of the place. The organized formation of the handicapped children and the visionary and the tireless leader of the Sangam Mr. Shankar Raman and his sister, Dr.Sumathi. With great humility I did the unfurling of the national flag, followed by national anthem and speeches by Sulochana, Shankar Raman and myself. These started off our visiting the multiple buildings with schools, physiotherapy, places for specially challenged individuals to learn etc. Toronto supporters will be glad to know that the entire place is called Sulochana Gardens and there is a dedicated building to Handicare International which houses the care and schooling for specially challenged individuals.
Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), the vocational training in typewriting, computers, tailoring, and computers are more than what we were expecting. We were fortunate to take part in the Pongal and Mattu Pongal festivals conducted in rural style with the children of the Sangam. There were several individual meetings with the leaders, the staff and the children. Thiruppugazh song beautiful and an individual on a wheel chair chanting Rudram. God has his inscrutable ways to open doors! Though they have received many honours and awards, both Ramakrishnan and Shankar Raman have created a heaven for the handicapped in a 30-acre land and have bigger dreams to serve the needs of these people. Sugantha and I felt thrilled and somewhat humbled by what we saw and made a determination to do our utmost to support the efforts of these two illustrious leaders. We want to thank the staff, Mr. Ramakrishnan, Mr. Shankar Raman and Dr. Sumathy and Sulo and Krishnamurthy for being our excellent hosts. …… R.K. Moorthy and Sugantha Moorthy |
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Canadian donations help fund so many programs at Amar Seva Sangam. Visiting the campus was enlightening as I experienced how much of a difference we can make from so far away. The various programs at Sangam help those with disabilities with all aspects of their lives. Amar Seva Sangam is truly one of the most inspirational places I have visited and I carry the smiles and hopes of the children we help in my heart.
…..Anchel Krishna
…..Anchel Krishna
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I was first introduced to Handicare Intl by my sister Meena Suppiah in 2005. I had attended a few of their events and I was very impressed by their good work done in rural India to alleviate the suffering of the physically challenged children. We went to India in 2006 and I made it a point to visit Amar Seva Sangam and I was immediately impressed by the neatness and cheerfulness of the people and children. The children were on their way to the fully integrated school in the campus and the youth were either going to the vocational training centre or to their classes at Indira Gandhi Open University. There was an atmosphere of serenity all around the campus. We met with Mr.Sankar Raman and he made quite an impression on me. Although he is severely disabled, he has accomplished so much and I was in awe of his accomplishments and his happy nature. It was then that I decided that I wanted to be involved with this with organisation in some way to help them. When I returned to Canada, I started attending meetings with Handicare and eventually became a board member as I realized that I could contribute more that way. I also wanted to build Handicare into my life and work. With this in mind, I decided to do my own little fundraisers for Handicare. Each year I normally hold a client appreciation dinner dance event for my clients and this is a free event for my clients. During the last 2 years, I was able to raise almost $1000 on each occasion which I donated towards Handicare. Two of my clients have even sponsored children at the Sangam. My aim is to spread the news of the good work that Handicare is doing to more and more people in and beyond our South Asian community. Please help me in spreading the news and good work that Handicare is carrying out. Empowering a child empowers an entire community!
…..Balan Manian
…..Balan Manian
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“Everyone was so welcoming and hospitable. We were
very pleased to meet the young people we have sponsored
and are happy they have done so well! We've never seen
a happier class of children with their equally nice teacher.
All good students, they eagerly
wrote their names in our
notebooks so we could
remember them next time we
visited. We are proud to
continue to support this excellent
charity which is succeeding so
admirably in its goal to help
these "differently – able"
people achieve dignified, fulfilled
lives. I was impressed with how
the committee members of ASSA are constantly striving to
improve and further the charity's work. One man's vision
has attracted like-minded people, and together they are
achieving something very special.” |
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........ Georgina Roche
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“The Gods I discovered” by Prof. V.S. Ananth
| The speaker started his speech this way: “ I know all of you would like to listen to stories, so let me tell you one that I know. There is an old man who has been living in a place very, very far away from India, for a very, very long time. Every year, he will travel to India and make visits to different temples and will return back to his far-off home. Before each visit, he will ask his Indian friends to suggest a temple where he will actually “see” God in person. His friends knew that this man is a bit crazy to want to actually see God in any temple. The best one could hope for is to see the image of the main deity of the temple at close range and pray that his or her wishes be fulfilled. Still, these friends would tell the old man that, in a particular temple in a particular part of India (where they themselves got their wishes fulfilled by praying to the deity), the old man can actually ‘see’ God. Believing his friends’ words, the man had visited at least some two hundred temples all over India but, in no place he could actually see God appear in front of him however hard he prayed. Obviously, the old man was too tired by now and was about to give up when a lady who had just returned from India and who had heard about this strange old man, came up and told him: ‘I know of one place where I saw God myself and I am sure you will too!’. There was something sincere about this lady’s words that prompted the old man to make one last attempt to see God. And so, he set off to visit the place suggested by the lady. Unlike the other places that he had visited so far, this new place was rather a small village in some remote part of Tamil Nadu and the old man had to be guided by others to reach and find this particular spot where the temple is situated. And, when he finally did reach that temple, - lo! and behold!- he not only saw one God but lots and lots of Gods all with beautiful smiles on their faces and welcoming the old man with love and kindness! It was unbelievable! One God would be sitting on a wheel chair and giving out instructions and another cute little baby God on crutches would hop up to the old man and shake his hands and yet another teenage God will sing him a song or a poem! There were also Gods who would take care of the old man’s daily needs. There was not one God but hundreds and hundreds of Gods in all shapes and colours- all of them glowing with Joy! There were Krishnas and Christies, Mohammads and Marys- each with some form of physical challenge about which, however, none of them seemed to pay any attention. Thus, having finally realized his life-long ambition, the old man never had to go anywhere else to see God in person.” - This is the story I told last December to a gathering of hundreds of Amar Seva Sangam children and adults in Aykkudi, where my wife Girija and I spent about 10 soul-filling days. Need I say any more to make those who have not yet visited this abode of Gods realize what they have been missing? |
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........ V.S. Ananthanarayanan
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A NEW KIND OF NORMAL... by Latha sukumar - Dec. 2008
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I visited Amar Seva Sangam and personally handed over the cheque to Sankara Raman, who is the Secretary, on the occasion of their weekly school assembly. I was so moved by the children and the safe haven that has been created for them in the middle of nowhere that I was shamelessly sobbing. We spent two days in this pristine locale surrounded by lush vegetation and mountains and close to the Courtallum waterfalls where we bathed on our second day. On that first day we were treated to a variety entertainment show when these variously abled children displayed their many talents performing songs, dances, stand up comedy, skits and even magic tricks. The excitement of both the participants and spectators was infectious and we got caught up in the raucous applause. Early the next morning as I took in the breathtaking natural
surroundings I became even more aware of a different kind of normal
that this place represented. The man watering the plants had been
brought here barely able to walk or talk after having been mauled by
an ox. Though the impact of the stroke he suffered could not be fully
reversed he spends his time tending to the gardens and lovingly
watering the plants as he chants holy verses in praise of Goddess
Aandal. I noticed a young boy with cerebral palsy making his way
across the grounds to the dining room with the help of railings along
the ramps that run the length and breadth of the property A young
girl in a wheelchair cheerily greeted me with a "good morning" as she
made her way to the bathroom for her morning ablutions. They all
moved around with confidence, well fed, educated, their emotional
needs lovingly tended to. The younger ones attended school and the
older pursued vocational training or undergraduate degrees through
distance education, all of them also finding opportunities for
expression through art, song, poetry or prayer. What struck me most
was they did not suffer from the crippling diffidence or self
consciousness that is the lot of disabled people in India where access
to a full life devoid of stigma is still a pipe dream. They
represented a new normal worthy of being replicated everywhere there
is difference. Within the harsh reality of India, where poverty is
rampant and the disabled are at the bottom of the pyramid, the
integrated school, vocational training facilities, open university and
post spinal chord injury rehab centre are no mean achievement for the
three individuals in wheelchairs who have created it and made it what
it is today. |
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........ Latha Sukumar
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“I got so much more” by Rekha Lakhani
Last December, my husband, Chandra, and I, accompanied by my brother, Dr. Rohit Devani and his wife Nila and my nephew Aditya from Kenya had the opportunity to visit Amar Seva Sangam. In 2005, my son, Bimal, traveled to Amar Seva and from what I had read from his blog, seen from his pictures and heard from his heart, I felt as though I was going to a very familiar place – a blissful place. His descriptions of the abundance of happiness, joy, fun and beautiful smiling faces that made Amar Seva truly special ensured that the next time I went to India I had to see this inspiring place, where, despite all the challenges, there was no pain, depression, distress of any kind; only hope.
I still remember, to this day, the overwhelming surge of emotions I experienced after visiting Amar Seva – face to face with a radically different perspective to life than the one I was so accustomed to. It was in a series of moments that I experienced one after another during my short time there that I decided there is nothing for which I would ever be justified to complain about. We were so blessed and had so much – but they had something more. While visiting the new post-acute spinal cord injury centre, we had an opportunity to talk to the patients and realized immediately the importance of the work being carried out for these paraplegic youngsters.
The highlight of the trip was the sheer excitement and exhilaration expressed by Amar Seva’s dedicated physiotherapists when we delivered several textbooks donated by the University of Toronto. Their continual thirst for knowledge in order to help provide patients with the highest level of care possible was clearly evident. During Bimal’s time there, the therapists had expressed the need for up to date information. Upon Bimal’s request, professors in the department of physical therapy at the University of Toronto, where Bimal is completing graduate studies, generously donated new editions of the latest physiotherapy and neuro-rehabilitation text books.
I still remember, to this day, the overwhelming surge of emotions I experienced after visiting Amar Seva – face to face with a radically different perspective to life than the one I was so accustomed to. It was in a series of moments that I experienced one after another during my short time there that I decided there is nothing for which I would ever be justified to complain about. We were so blessed and had so much – but they had something more. While visiting the new post-acute spinal cord injury centre, we had an opportunity to talk to the patients and realized immediately the importance of the work being carried out for these paraplegic youngsters.
The highlight of the trip was the sheer excitement and exhilaration expressed by Amar Seva’s dedicated physiotherapists when we delivered several textbooks donated by the University of Toronto. Their continual thirst for knowledge in order to help provide patients with the highest level of care possible was clearly evident. During Bimal’s time there, the therapists had expressed the need for up to date information. Upon Bimal’s request, professors in the department of physical therapy at the University of Toronto, where Bimal is completing graduate studies, generously donated new editions of the latest physiotherapy and neuro-rehabilitation text books.