Teena, a teacher at the Choice School at Thiruvalla, takes the wishes of her visually challenged wards seriously and turns their dreams into realities.Teena and other volunteers of Peace Mission are into a noble mission. Overcoming acute cynicism of society, they act as the eyes for the students of the School for the Blind, which is located at Olassa, Kottayam.
The volunteers are ever ready to realise the wishes of the differently abled students. “We want to see Mohanlal.” This was the chorus from them when Teena and friends asked them about their wish list. Christo, right now in Class 10, had even a portrait of the superstar which he himself had drawn, which he wants to present his hero when they meet. Almost all the students had similar requests. They wanted to go to the cinemas and watch movies and board a flight to see the skies. The list was endless.
Teena, who is a teacher at the Choice School at Thiruvalla, takes the wishes of her visually challenged wards seriously. Her team leaves no stone unturned to turn their wish lists into realities.
Naturally, the reaction from those around is a barrage of negative responses. How can the blind “watch” movies? Why take them on a flight when they can see nothing? How will that boy ever see Mohanlal? The negative vibes would have been overwhelming for anyone else. Teena and her friends couldn't be discouraged as they stood rooted to their convictions. They took the whole batch of students to the cinemas. And the joy of watching a movie as reflected on their cheerful faces was all that Teena and the volunteers ever wanted to see.
It was quite by chance that Mannanam-native Teena came to know about the School for the Blind. She joined the “Peace Movement” of the institution and started working for the students there. She showed her commitment by sponsoring a few students. The volunteers even chipped in with funds and also brought in sponsors.
The efforts of the volunteers to inspire the special-needs students to put their souls into their work bore fruit as they developed the confidence to strike it out on their own without having to lean too much on others. However, a few were cynical about the initiatives in this regard. How could anyone who had never seen the colours and the beauty of the world draw? They just refused to buy the fact that the children would ever succeed in their efforts. However, the confidence Teena and her friends instilled in them manifested in the form of colours on canvases. They had drawn pictures from their inner vision.
Teena had more things to do. She turned the paintings into greetings cards and posted them on the net, without setting a fixed price on any of them. The cards were there for all to take home. Those who wanted to buy could do so. The response was overwhelming. Folks paid from Rs 10 to Rs 1,000 to buy the cards.
The online sales went a long way in boosting the self-confidence of the young artists as the money came in handy to meet their small expenses. But for the students, the faith in their efforts and their capabilities was something beyond their wildest expectations. The young teacher managed to develop a spirit of self-reliance in her wards despite their odds.
It was while mulling over the wisest way to save their “small” funds that the students stumbled upon the fact that Lakshmi, one of their friends, did not have a house of her own. So up went the chorus again -- "a house for Lakshmi". But the demand was not for just four walls and a roof over it. “We built a house for Lakshmi the way she wanted it. We had some money of our own and when several noble souls offered help, a house came up from nowhere,” says Teena.
“Last year too we had put up for sale the Christmas cards the kids had made. When we asked what they needed with the money thus obtained, they said in unison: "A house in Kottayam for a poor woman."
The young teacher is now satisfied as she has given visually challenged students the courage to go on in life.
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