Special children of RASA School and managers and staff of Leela Palace, had a memorable afternoon that was spent soaking in the festive Christmas spirit of giving and spreading joy, recently.
For Leela Palace general manager and Frenchman Pascal Dupuis, it was a voyage of discovery when he first met the special children at RASA School in Abhiramapuram. “After a conversation with a guest about the unfortunate children, I went to visit them out of curiosity,” he said candidly.
But he was truly impressed by what he saw. “I really like what they do and how they use their time. I also found their discipline inspirational,” Dupuis said.
What followed was an invitation to RASA’s 70-odd special children, suffering from mental disabilities, autism and cerebral palsy, to be the hotel’s special guest for a day. “What a better way to celebrate Christmas, which is all about the joy of giving,” he pointed out.
On the menu was the experience of fine dining, fun and frolic, dancing and gifts.Tables lined with Santa Claus masks, crimson silk gift bags and delectable dishes, particularly French fries, garnered their attention.
As the DJ gave the call, the boys and girls rushed to the centre of the hall and began jiving to Michael Jackson’s Bad and other foot-tapping numbers.
Simultaneously, there was brisk sale at the exhibition counter, as staff of various departments of the hotel pocketed several handicraft items on display – cellphone pouches, different types of purses, wallets, brocade jewellery pouches, framed sequin pictures, posters, magazine racks and bags – all made by the children, costing between `50 and `750. The collection touched `25,000.
Hemalatha Manoharan, deputy director of RASA, said, “All the children are taught life skills like music, dance and story-telling. They are also exposed to embroidery, painting, craft work, printing and so on.”
Depending on their skill, interest and ability, they were then directed to a particular vocational course. For instance, S Akshaya (17), suffering from Down Syndome, is at the pre-vocational level. “I like embroidery,” she told City Express.
Mamta Rao, a volunteer said, “Although they have behavioural challenges, they learn whatever they are taught and learn them fast.”
It was a poignant moment for the hotel managers when they personally served the dishes to their special guests. “We are planning to carry out more community activities in future,” the French general manager said.
The gesture was part of the ongoing community activities undertaken by the upcoming luxury hotel, located in MRC Nagar at Raja Annamalaipuram.
About 200 staff had donated blood and some 150 kids from two orphanages had earlier been guests of the hotel. The employees had also conducted a cleanliness drive in the locality, Dupuis recalled. “There are people who cannot afford to come, so we go out of the way to bring them here.”