Sithijaya the Center for the differently able is a place for the Children brought in with various Disability and are now enabled to be able making the above saying by Martina Navratilova ture.
Sithijaya started its operation in 2007 December 03rd (International day of the Disable) with just 15 Students and now is growing day by day. Being the only private institution in the District (Hambantota) that is operated in collaboration with the government is becoming a wellknown entity for the Challenged Ones in the area (Ambalantota).
A beautiful School built specially for these children by the MJF Charitable Foundation caters to 45 Children for now is targetting to cater for a minimum of 60 by 2011 Mid December. Records at the Scocial Services unit at the Divisional Secretariat indicates a total number of 682 as disabled in the area and Sithijaya is in the process of tapping all these children’s houses, making their parents / guardiants aware of the importance to train them to be mobilized and to be independant.
The School operates mainly as a vocational Training Center for the differently able and also since recently started teaching the students to Read and Write so that they are enabled to read name boards, identify the buses and its routes, Shops and places, etc….
It also started a pre School for Children below 8 years and also a center for the parents who bring their children to the School and wait until the School is over to take them home so that their time spent is spent not in vain. The Parents gets involved in making Bags and Shoes, these produced items are to be sold to the general public at an Exhibition that will be on from the 03rd to the 06th at the School’s Exhibition Center will benefit the parents and also the School.
A bus is made available to pick and drop the Children. which has eased the burden of bringing their Children to School and taking them back after School, etc..
It is a home away from home for these students as they are taken care by a team of very dedicated teachers and managed by an experienced Administrator.
These Children (6 to 42) ofcause with no age barrier we call them all children because of their Childish behaviour were involved in nothing at their homes….but today their hands work much better than an able ones and their minds think much broader than you and I.
These Children are involved in Home Gardening, Making Bags and Mats and Crafts using Palm leaves, Paining (Fabric and Clay pots), Sewing, Dancing, Singing, etc..
From 2012 the Center with the inclusion of more Children will have new programmes like Carpentry, Masonry, Cooking, Pottery added to their daily activities along with Reading, Writting, Speaking, Computing etc.
lets try not to place ‘dis’ in their ABILITY.