KOCHI: The efforts of Kudumbashree, along with the local self-government, have been instrumental in uplifting persons with intellectual disabilities by equipping them with skills that make them employable.
Individuals with mild and moderate intellectual disabilities and some of their parents can now find employment thanks to the BUDS institutions. BUDS schools are special schools for mentally challenged children of poor families.
Owned and managed by local government institutions, under the support and guidance of the Kudumbashree Mission, these schools are both free and open. There are a total of 328 BUDS institutions in the state.
“Of them, 162 institutions provide livelihood training as well. Around 3,000 intellectually disabled persons and some of their parents are now trained to make sustainable products through the BUDS Rehabilitation Centres,” said Arun Rajan, the state project manager of BUDS institutions.
The training provided at the BUDS by the Kudumbashree members is aimed at enabling persons with disabilities to reach and maintain their optimal physical, sensory, intellectual, psychiatric, and social functional levels.
Daniel Libni, the assistant programme manager, said that the initiative is a kind of therapy as well.
“The activities they do help them to improve their concentration level as well as fine-tune motor skills. So in every way, the initiative is a relief for them,” Daniel said.
Arun also said that products like paper, pens, carry bags, files, notepads etc., used at the conferences and meetings of Qila, Kudumbashree, Haritha Kerala mission, and other organisations are made by the persons at BUDS institutions.
The BUDS products are famous in the Thiruvananthapuram district and have their own brand. “In Thiruvananthapuram, we have our own brand named “Ithal”. In the coming year, we plan to expand the brand across the state by bringing together all the BUDS products under one umbrella,” Arun said.
Kudumbashree and local self-governments both oversee BUDs institutions. The infrastructure and staff salaries are funded by the local government, while Kudumbashree runs the training programmes for the BUDS school faculties.