Adarsh started with 7 children, in June 1998 as a day center and continues to be so. Imparting early sensory motor developmental therapy and academic training, it has many success stories to its credit. In the last 7 years alone, around 40 of its students left Adarsh to pursue their studies in mainstream schools, with their disability factor considerably reduced and confidence and social interaction ability levels built up. A very welcome feature in the growth pattern of Adarsh is the increased enrolment of young children, below 6 years, every year. Today out of over 180 children, 35 constitute such an Early Intervention Group". In the matter of rehabilitation, the earlier the intervention, the better.

Adarsh has 6 vans, which pick up around 110 children from within a radius of about 30-40 Kms and drops them back at the end of the school session. This is, no doubt, a great facility; in fact, it is a great blessing to the children and their parents. The present institution can grow further, taking in about 30 more children. Beyond that, it is preferable to establish much more schools, each to cater to neighboring areas.

Community Based Rehabilitation projects
Buoyed by the success of Adarsh, the Trust had been able to motivate others interested in the problems of differently abled children. 13 such schools have come up at different places in Kerala, the Southern most in Venganoor near Trivandrum and the Northern most at Palakkad, together training over 300 children.

Some of the other programs of Adarsh include:

>> Special School for CP, AUTISM, & DOWN SYNDROME
>> Awareness campaigns on child brain damage and its effect on
   child development
>> Early identification
>> Early Sensory stimulation
>> Mobility training to develop motor areas
>> Visual stimulation

>> Visual Stimulation
>> Newborn Hearing Screening and Intervention
>> Screening of Babies at Risk  and Intervention
>> Play School- Readiness programme
>>  Medical support
>>  Parent counselling
>>  Home based training for those who cannot attend even a special school.
  >> Conducting motivation campaigns to spread awareness and medical camps
  to facilitate identification.

Organization

Trust and Trustees
A public charitable trust in the name of Adarsh Charitable Trust was registered in April 1998 with 12 trustees including three 'settlers'. The objects of the Trust were as follows:

1. For helping physically handicapped and mentally retarded persons.
2. To rehabilitate persons with Cerebral Palsy and persons with
    other disabilities
3. To give medical assistance and relief to those who are poor and have become mentally and physically retarded through accidents or other calamities.
 
4. To establish and/ or construct, run and aid institutions, medical relief
    centers for this purpose

5. To promote research in the field of community based rehabilitation programs
 
6. To do any and all other lawful things as the trust may deem fit for
    the attainment of all or any of its objectives

Keeping in view the in adequate availability of financial and technical resources, in the beginning the trustees decided to set up a school for a rehabilitation institute only for children with Cerebral Palsy. This school started functioning under the name Adarsh from June 1998. With more experience and better availability of resources, in July 2003 a separate section for children with Autism was started. At present there are over 140 children with CP and over 40 children with Autism under going training in Adarsh.

The overall administration, management and control of the affairs of the Trust and its properties vest in a Board of Trustees, constituted for this purpose. There are at present 35 trustees. The Board of Trustees meets once a year at an Annual General body Meeting held before the end of July every year. At this meeting the performance of the Trust and its institutes is reviewed. To facilitate a meaningful review, the Secretary General presents a detailed report of its activities at every meeting and the audited income and expenditure statement pertaining to the year under review.

Executive Committee
To monitor the working of the 5 institutes set up by this trust, namely, Adarsh Habilitation Institutes for children with CP, for children with Autism, for Community Based Rehabilitation projects, Child Developmental Evaluation Intervention and Research Centre (CDEIRC) and for Vocational Training, an Executive committee consisting of :

>>  A Chairman
>> A Secretary General
>> A Joint Secretary
>> A Treasurer and
>> A few more members not exceeding 7 in number

has been constituted by electing them from among the trustees. The Executive Committee meets once a month and more often when conditions demand it. This committee normally decides on appointment of staff, purchase of equipment for the school, and on all matters relating to the day to day running of the school as well as planning for the future.

Governing Council
A Governing Council, as a policy formulating body is constituted from among the trustees elected by the Board of Trustees. At present there are eleven members. The Governing Council consists of persons from all walks of life, of good stature and high standing in society. The Governing Council meets once in three months and works in close liaison with the Executive Committee.

Funding .
Among the children that get trained in Adarsh, the majority are from economically weaker sections of society. The cost of running such an institution is high on account of the very high faculty-student ratio, which is today about 1:5 Provision of transportation arrangements increases the cost. Obviously, it is not possible to recover the full cost from all the parents. Therefore, as soon as the assessment by the technical team is completed, and it is decided to admit a child, a sub committee of the executive committee meets the parent/s and discusses the fee that they can pay without difficulty. What a parent accepts as the level of fee that he can bear is alone levied. Thus there is normally a gap of about Rs. 1.2 lacs per month, between the expenditure and income from fees. This gap is met by sponsorship of children and donations. However, continuous effort is needed to fill this gap. To help donors, two steps have been taken by adarsh.

Donations to in all forms enjoy the benefit of exemption under section 80G of the Income Tax Act 1961 . This exemption is now available upto march 2009.

Adarsh has also been registered by the Ministry of Home Affairs Govt. of India under section6(1) of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 1976, with Registration number 052850473 and can now, therefore receive foreign contributions.
 
 
 

 

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