These cakes made in wee hours by sleepless mothers have a ‘special’ story to tell

Nazeebath Saleem from Chembukadavu and Shyja of Unnikulam too have similar tales to narrate.
Mothers of differently-abled children during the baking course session at Thamarassery in Kozhikode
Mothers of differently-abled children during the baking course session at Thamarassery in Kozhikode

KOZHIKODE: Soliya Baiju, a newbie in baking, has been truly overwhelmed by the flurry of compliments from people in Kodenchery and nearby Koduvally lucky enough to relish her yummy ‘White Vancho’ cake and ‘Barbie’ cake.

For all the praise heaped on her culinary talents, never did Soliya’s patrons realise that these melt in the mouth goodies were made during the wee hours -- between midnight and 3 am -- the only time when her four-year-old spastic toddler will let go of her.

Nazeebath Saleem from Chembukadavu and Shyja of Unnikulam too have similar tales to narrate. The trio is among the several women -- mothers of special kids -- who have to endure sleepless nights.

More than 30 such mothers have successfully completed the Craft Baking Course conducted by the government-run Additional Skill Acquisition Programme (ASAP) and it has come in handy for them during the ongoing lockdown.

“Even to get a diaper for my kid, I have to seek money from my husband. But now I am pretty hopeful. I have made and sold 20 cakes during the shutdown period. The money which I made has greatly boosted my confidence,” says Soliya. “I have to take care of my kid. So I have to wait until she goes to sleep before I can start baking,’ she says.

Sold like hot cakes

After the lockdown kicked in, the mothers’ group made over 150 cakes which flew off the shelves. According to Nazeebath, whose 14-year-old differently-abled daughter is 80 per cent mentally challenged,

“I can do my work only after she retires to bed.” So, when does sleep..? “We are sleepless mothers. These kids cannot be handled by anyone except us,” she said. Her husband is employed in the Middle East and the couple has two younger children. Shyja’s 22-year old son is mentally challenged and he has a hearing impairment as well.

“I have made 13 cakes during the lockdown. I used to do the icing only after midnight when he turns in,” she says. Mercy Priya, district coordinator, ASAP, says plans were afoot to market the products made by the women’s team, but the pandemic played spoilsport.

“There were 35 mothers in the batch. Of these, 30 have differently-abled kids,” said Priya. Kozhikode National Trust and Kozhikode Parivar, a collective of parents of differently-abled kids in the district, were associate partners of the Craft Baking Course.

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