The summer recess in Kerala has become synonymous with various summer camps where children hone their skills in everything from arts and sports to AI and robotics. But the camp being organised by Shradha Charitable Society at Government U.P. School, Palkulangara, near West Fort, in Thiruvananthapuram is special in many ways.
The camp is organised by a forum of parents for their children who are intellectually challenged. Forty to fifty children of various ages participate every day in the camp. The participants are divided into four groups, each under a teacher and a parent who acts as a shadow teacher.
In one class, 62-year-old Rudraru is arranging shapes. He gets most of them right, but sometimes when he falters, the teacher and her assistant egg him on to complete. With a little assistance, he completes the task and the teacher asks him to identify the shapes. When he correctly identifies one as “vattam” (circle), she tells him to name a couple of things having circular shape. After some hesitation he says “pappadam” and his friends appreciate him with a round of applause while some others name a few things they know.
