|
Tutu and the late Theo were no strangers to challenges: Theo had Polio and Tutu
has Cerebral Palsy. They could therefore relate closely to the problems
of the mentally disabled and build a rapport with them. Their work has
been successful, and many individuals who were once looked upon as a
burden to their families have returned home rehabilitated, and renewed
with fresh direction in their lives.
Under their encouragement
and guidance, the mentally disabled have proved themselves capable of
rising above the challenges of their conditions, and have been
successfully taking on various types of activities including cooking,
handling machinery such as electric pumps, power tillers and the like.
They are now capable, responsible and disciplined individuals.
The
Institute is agro-based, and follows guidelines laid down by Dr. K.C.
Marfatia, the former head of the Department of Psychiatry of the J.J.
Group of Hospitals in Mumbai, who believed that the mentally disabled
could best be rehabilitated at a sylvan environment such as a farm. The
Institute has been built on a fourteen acre plot of land, which is
designed to sustain itself to some extent on its farming activities. |
|
|