More than 10,000 children ages between 0 to 10, predominantly with developmental delays are currently enrolled in this program. They receive end to end services free of charge, such as Rehabilitation, Special education, Medical intervention, Assistive devices and more. The parents and the rural communities benefit immensely from our awareness programs, counselling and training. As of August 15th, 2023, the program has been adopted by 10 NGOs across five states in India (Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Pondicherry, Assam, and Karnataka). In addition to licensing to NGOs, horizontal scale-up was achieved through a partnership with the Tamil Nadu Department of Education!
Sponsor A child
Background
Under this program, we invite you to sponsor children with various disabilities between the ages of 0 and 18. This is one of our oldest programs which started in the year 1992. Children who were sponsored then at around age 5, are now leading very successful lives. Once they reach age 18, they are transferred to higher education or Vocational training and most of them are gainfully employed. Many are married and raising children as well.
Sponsorship through the AAC Scheme is done mainly at Amar Seva Sangam, Children at Amar Seva Sangam are separated into four major categories: Early Intervention (age 0-10), Residential program (age 7-18), Special Education (age 6-18) and Youth Vocational Training. The number of children supported Amar Seva Sangam exceeds 10,000. Handi-Care Intl. is proud to announce that under the “Sponsor A Child” program, Handi-Care has sponsored more than 1500 children with disabilities at Amar Seva Sangam, 45 poor children at Maithri Educational & Charitable Trust, and 5 severely mentally challenged at Nesam. We take pride in announcing that close to 854 children have completed this program successfully and have moved on to Vocational/job training or to higher studies.
Technology driven solution
Program highlight: The entire program is supported by a technology based “Enabling Inclusion” solution which is recognized by United Nations Zero project, as well as in 4 continents: Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. World Cerebral Palsy Day winner in Australia, MIT Solve Challenge in USA, United Nations, Vodafone foundation, Azim Premji Foundation, MDRT Foundation, and Grand Challenges Canada.
How Do You Sponsor a Child Under This Plan?
There are three ways you can do this:
- 7 Years GRANT: A donation of of $2500 (CAD) creates a “Grant” for one child. The money will be used over a 7 year period for complete rehabilitation services of the selected child. If the child gets discharged prior to the grant period, it will be transferred to another child.
- Yearly sponsorship: An annual donation of $400 (CAD) per child.
- Monthly sponsorship: A monthly donation of $35 (CAD) per child.
Sponsorship Highlights:
- Children age 0-10 with disabilities are admitted from very poor families, where the household income is very low.
- All services are offered free of cost to the children
- You can sponsor individual children from our waiting list.
- The EI app collects comprehensive data and outcomes on each child and reports of these children will be shared with donors twice a year.
If I sponsor a child, how is the money used?
- Technology infrastructure for Amar Seva Sangam and partner NGOs, including EI app hosting, maintenance and upgrades.
- Salaries for community rehabilitation workers, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech therapists / trainers, coordinators, psychologists, IT admin, office admin.
- Transportation charges for workers to go to children’s homes.
- Office Admin costs.
- Tablets for the rehab workers, computers for the office
- The services listed below.
What services do children, families and the community receive as result of my sponsorship?
- Holistic assessment and intervention planning for children with disabilities covering all their developmental domains.
- Parent support and training to integrate rehab activities into child’s daily live
- Physiotherapy
- Occupational Therapy / Activities of Daily Living – feeding, toileting, etc.
- Speech Therapy
- Sensory integration (involving sensory stimulation for hearing, seeing, feeling and tasting).
- Special Education
- Vision and hearing therapy
- Assistive Device (i.e. wheelchair, walkers, hearing aids, etc.) assessments (please note that the devices are NOT covered)
- Environmental interventions (i.e. making home more accessible, sensitizing family members to the child’s disability)
- Psychological, and financial counseling for parents
- Social benefits – disability cards and welfare program connection
- Advocacy for school enrollment and integration through teacher training and school admin sensitization
- School and Classroom based interventions alongside their teacher and support workers
- Parent group formation for peer connection, motivation and advocacy
- Awareness programs to the community to decrease disability stigma and promote child inclusion into society
When does a sponsorship end?
- A child graduates out of the Early Intervention program once they have achieved developmental milestones to an extent that further rehab is not necessary or that they can be integrated into existing school rehab program offered by the government or enrolled into Amar Seva Sangam’s integrated school or Centre For Special Education. This can happen at any age, but typically will occur between age 9-11 and usually take 4- 7 years.
- Your 7 years GRANT amount will last for 7 years and will be used for another child that is on the wait list, if the first child graduates out of the program prior to 7 years.
How do we keep the cost so low?
- A similar program in Canada with all the features listed above, costs upwards of $20,000 CAD, per child per year.
- In our EI program, community rehab workers provide the mainstay of therapy through weekly visits, but are supported and guided by rehabilitation specialists. This ensures the highest quality and standards of services, while keeping costs lower.
- ASSA is a very efficiently run organization with minimum overhead expenses and sincerely committed employees. The use of the EI app allows for efficient scheduling and maximizes the time spent by therapists with the patients and minimizes time spent on travel and office work.
- We also place PT/OT/ speech therapy professional and student volunteers from Canada, USA, UK, Australia and Europe throughout the year who provide capacity building and support for the staff at Amar Seva Sangam. These volunteers also provide direct services to children and parents and collect or purchase equipment they bring to ASSA, resulting in a significant cost savings.
For children with special needs:
For children in the Early Intervention program, we require only 1 endowment of $2500 or yearly or monthly sponsorships of $400, or $35, respectively
For children in Residential, Special Education, and Youth Vocational training programs, we require 3 (7 Years GRANTs) of $2,500 for each child with physical or developmental challenges. Each grant will be used up over a 7 year period to achieve the goals under Each segment. The 3 categories viz;
- Food and Clothing expenses (Amudasurabhi);
- Education and Recreational expenses (Srividhya);
- Medical and Rehabilitation expenses (Dhanvanthri).
1. Early Intervention
Our impact
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Children Screened
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Children Received Services
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Parents Empowered
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Successfully Completed
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Workers Trained
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People Sensitized
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CDN dollars raised for projects
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youth with disabilities are trained and employed
2. Residential Care
Those who stay at Amar Seva Sangam campus (Home) and are provided with accommodation, food, clothing, rehabilitation, and education until they complete grade 12 or otherwise move on to higher studies or vocational training. Almost everyone in this category have predominant physical disabilities along with developmental issues. Generally, children come under home care, who are either very severely affected or their families can not offer adequate care and support in their homes, due to poverty or broken families or these children are orphaned.
3. Special Education
Those who attend the Centre for Special Education or the regular school, but live with their parents. They are bused to the campus and bused back every day. All the schooling, rehab and medical expenses, and meals for the children are covered by Amar Seva Sangam. Each child is given condition specific rehab program suitable to his/her potential. We are proud to announce that 35 children have been integrated into the regular school system after a few years in the Special Education program. When a child reaches age 18, they undergo vocational training to empower them with job opportunities.
Making Chalk pieces, Incense sticks, Disinfectant solutions, Liquid soap etc.
Training in Tailoring
Another very important initiative is that most of the students are enrolled in the “Sangamam VTC” program, whereby they spend the whole day learning and producing household items that are being marketed.
- Chalk piece making. All the classrooms at ASSA use these chalk pieces and any excess is sold at the markets.
- Incense stick making. Most staff members buy them for their uses and any excess is sold at the markets.
- Disinfectant solution preparation (Phenoil). The entire campus uses this product for daily cleaning and disinfecting and any excess is sold at the markets.
- Cutting old cloth materials and making household wipes for campus use and sales.
- Other tailoring items
These products are used by the school and for the maintenance of the campus. The excess products are sold to local shops.
The children from the Special Education program continue to benefit from this initiative, as they are kept engaged while learning new skills and generating income for upkeeping of the project.
Apart from tailoring the students learn and make Chalk pieces, liquid soap, Phenyl solutions, incense sticks, and more that are used by the school and for the maintenance of the campus. The excess products are sold to local shops.
The children from the Special Education program continue to benefit from this initiative, as they are kept engaged while learning new skills and generating income for upkeeping of the project.