For all those who find it impossible to manoeuvre the world around them, the School for the Blind, Keezhmad, has a lesson or two for you. As the State Special School Fest came to an end the other day, the school has been winning laurels. The school had won the overall championship in the 16th State Special School Kalolsavam held at Thiruvananthapuram and the 17th State Special School Work Experience Fest.
Since its inception, the school, which comes under the Kerala Blind School Society, has always remained instrumental in providing support to the special children. “We train them to live in a society,” says Sheela Jubily, principal of the school.
“Braille reading and writing, mobility skills and daily-living skills are part of the training we provide. But, the students are sometimes so good that they outdo our expectations,” she adds.
The 14 students who represented the school had brought laurels. “They have to feel and understand the movements and then learn it. And, they do it incredibly fast,” says Jubily.
Accommodating students with multiple disorders, the school also enables children with autism, cerebral palsy and hyperactivity meet their life. “Such children succumb to changes. They turn disciplined and learn to behave better,” says Johnson Joseph, the administrator. “The visually challenged, on the other hand, are trained to meet their lives, to become independent. They have remarkable perception. New scents and sounds of new footwear will not go unnoticed. They know who is who and what is what,” says Mr Joseph.
Magnificent bead necklaces, coir and cane works, mats, colourful bags and others kept for exhibiting are fruits of their creativity. “They get the techniques fast. Some of them are surprisingly inventive,” says Minu K. John, the Braille teacher who has been working here for last 29 years. The on-the-spot competitions in paper craft, umbrella making, plastic cane weaving, bamboo work, coir craft, ratton work, beads work, straw board, waste material work, kora grass, chalk making and plastic bag weaving saw the students performing impeccably well.
“It is nice and easy to make the mats,” says Siyad S, seventh standard student, who finished three coir mats in two and a half hours, winning the first prize. “Every time they give us better results,” says Betty J, the craft teacher. “Unlike others, they hardly get distracted. Sometimes they produce much more than what is taught,” says the teacher who is partially blind.
The school excells not just in craft but in academics and sports too, “ says M V Rajan, a sports teacher who is also the State Cricket Team coach.
“The rules for the game remain same except that here they use underarm bowling method and balls that jingle, made of fibre,” says Rajan.