VARANASI – The Place Next To Heaven
By Nandita Baruah, Maria’s Public School, Guwahati Chapter
“On 30th September 2019, a group of students of Maria’s Public School accompanied by teacher escorts and Founder and Managing Trustee to the Swabalambi Society of rehabilitation and training of persons with multiple disabilities in Sonapur, Assam. Under the vision-“Learning beyond the classroom” and the aegis of community development through AFS, the students were enlightened on the progress and obstacles of integrating specially abled persons into society in rural India. As a part of AFS community society, Maria’s Public School has donated furniture and almirahs to the center and the students distributed fruits to the workers.
MPS, the first school in the North East with integrated education for the specially abled has worked on countless occasions to achieve equality and deliver justice to those long denied of it. On top of Inclusive education, the school has committed itself to working with AFS to create a truly egalitarian classroom experience wherein the students are able to develop the social skills necessary to survive in an increasing competitive global arena.
This trip to Swabalambi has helped our students to recognise the efforts and potential in empowerment of disabled persons in rural India and to integrate school learning with social and cultural development of the individual.“