Third ‘Kalam Express’ gets rolling in the city

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, February 24

Less than two years after it was introduced in the city, the third “Kalam Express”, a school on wheels for children with special needs, was launched here today.

While the first bus was a refurbished Red Cross van, two new vehicles have been customised for the purpose.

The brand new third vehicle was flagged off by local MP Kirron Kher. She had donated Rs 10 lakh from her discretionary MPLAD fund for the purchase of the vehicle, which the UT branch of the Indian Red Cross Society got fabricated to make it children-friendly at the cost of Rs 1 lakh.

A brainchild of Deputy Commissioner Ajit Balaji Joshi and his wife Gauri Parasher Joshi, who is the DC of Panchkula, the city’s first mobile school was launched on June 23, 2016, while the second one was rolled out on July 13 last. The country’s first-ever such school was launched by the IAS couple in Jind in 2015 when Joshi was the DC there and Gauri ADC.

In Chandigarh during past less than two years, the team has identified 260 children with special needs that qualify for this assistance. The team is currently catering to 240 children in the city slums. Among these, they have helped several children to get admission in various government schools and many kids to special schools such as Vatika in Sector 19 and the Institute for the Blind in Sector 26, Chandigarh.

Since the new bus has more seating capacity, more children could avail of the facility.

Jagdev, a daily wager from Maloya, who was present with his 11-year-old son Pappu, said, “The Kalam Express has done more in less than two years than we could do in all this while.”

The two-member team is currently working with the children and conducting a door-to-door survey as well to identify and help more such children.

How the initiative works

The team goes door-to-door in slum areas to provide education to special children who are unable to attend regular school. The service is free of cost and has helped many children improve and made them capable of attending regular school. It caters to visually impaired, hearing and speech-impaired and mentally challenged children. The teaching methods to various kids vary, depending on the IQ of the child.

For physically challenged children, a set of basic movements is done to ascertain the movement of their joints after proper assessment by the physiotherapist. The families are taught helpful techniques and are asked to regularly practice it with the kids.

The Kalam Express aims to provide services to those special children who cannot afford it or are confined to their homes, and there is need to include them in the mainstream society. A team of special educator and a physiotherapist have been visiting these children in the mobile unit equipped with audio-visual and tactile-teaching aids like Braille kits, toys, special Oro motor kits etc.

Areas of operation

Areas covered under the previous two “Kalam Express” are Maloya, Dhanas, Mani Majra, Mauli Jagran, Bapu Dham and Colony No. 4 while the new mobile school will cater to Dadu Majra, Indira Colony, Kishangarh, Palsora, Hallo Majra and Kajheri. The community is also supporting the noble cause by donating stationary items, wheel chairs and commode chairs for these children. The school on wheels makes 10 to 12 visits per day.

What next

Since there are many more special children living in these areas as well as other slums of the city who require guidance and training from special teachers to enable them to interact and also improve their physical skills, the new unit will focus on reaching out to more children in already designated areas. The team will work closely with parents in order to enhance independence and social interaction of these special children.

Know the initiative

“Kalam Express” is an initiative that aims to promote, develop and maintain the skills essential for children with special needs so that they can perform better in their homes and social setting. It is a mobile educational-cum-rehabilitation unit for children with special needs living in slum, rural and rehabilitation colonies of the city who cannot commute to schools and also require different therapies because of their physical limitations.

What it aims

The Kalam Express aims to provide services to those special children who cannot afford it or are confined to their homes, and there is need to include them in the mainstream society. A team of special educator and a physiotherapist have been visiting these children in the mobile unit equipped with audio-visual and tactile-teaching aids like Braille kits, toys, special Oro motor kits etc.