This Chembur woman facilitates education and inclusion for differently abled children

Roughly 13 years ago Chembur-based Sonalee Shyamsunder visited the Lal Dongar slum near her home and saw a sight that not only shook her, but also gave her a sense of mission. In one of the homes, locked from the outside, she saw a young girl tied with rope, playing with her faeces. “With the help of a few neighbours I managed to free her up, and later got to know that the reason for it was that she was differently abled and the parents didn’t know how to take care of her. This was my first encounter with disability,” says Shyamsunder, who went on to establish Urmi Foundation (UF) in 2012.

The non-profit organisation primarily works on education and therapeutic intervention aiming at physical independence and literacy for children in marginalised communities who suffer from disabilities, but its approach has grown to be more holistic in nature. “Our pilot project was at a Chembur BMC school which taught us that along with our intervention in the lives of people with neurological disabilities, there’s a lot of work that needs to be done in terms of awareness,” says the founder-director. So Urmi Foundation teaches parents of such children the value and importance of education, therapy, pre-vocational training, etc. As its work evolved, the NGO’s top objectives came to include disability awareness and detection.

Their team identifies out-of-school children who may have been unable to stay in school due to their condition. Parents of such children are counselled, and the child assessed for IQ and other health parameters.

“If a child’s IQ level is below 70, then that is Urmi’s child.”

After a physical and mental assessment, the child is enrolled either in a BMC special school, or at one of Urmi Foundation’s 10 community centres. Children in the centres also eventually join the BMC special school system. “Every year, we are equipped to handle approximately 2,000 children across 10 BMC schools we have adopted and 10 Urmi Foundation centres,” she explains.

The system is designed to be social in nature and easy to adopt, replicate and scale. “Apart from activities, awareness and education, we also focus on strengthening government systems,” she says. UF adopts anganwadis and trains teachers there and in BMC special schools; and collaborates with government hospitals and primary health centres so that special children can receive the medical support required.

The aim is inclusion and integration of children with multiple disabilities through therapy, education and policy support.

Karthi Marshan, principal, marshan.ink, salutes her for the dedication she has towards her mission. “She started on this mission to help special-needs children in 2012. She is dedicated to the cause, is hands on and manages a team of over 20 teachers, together they are helping over 2,000 children in over 20 centres all over Mumbai (including places like Mumbra). Working for the marginalised and neglected communities at the grassroots level. Giving these special-needs children some dignity and self-respect by working with them, to find their voice in society is no mean feat.”