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Praise and awards have come her way, but she continues her search for better ways to bring a better life to the mentally retarded. C C Vijayakumari had her first real encounter with the problem when she met a woman with two mentally-challenged, grown-up girls in 1990 at her favourite temple in Chottanikara, near Kochi, in Kerala. The experience impelled Vijayakumari, a psychology graduate who had also undergone Montessori training, to enrol for a Diploma Course in Mental Retardation at the National Institute of the Mentally Handicapped (NIMH), Secunderabad. She passed the course with distinction.
 A brief stint at Asha Niketan, Kottivakkam, taught her the value of individual attention and a home atmosphere in the care of such disadvantaged persons. This was followed by a spell as a special educator in a government-aided school, where she got the State Government award for the Best Teacher in 1993. That decided her future. She had this vision of achieving happiness "by giving happiness to at least 10 others". She founded the Sivasakthi Kaakkum Karangal where, along with her adopted children Meera and Vignesh, she is the foster mother of more than 30 children. Any system is good so long as it helps the child, she believes, be it Reiki, Pranic Healing, Physiotherapy or just simply faith in God. She also has home-inclusive programmes to train and counsel parents of mentally challenged children.
 Vijayakumari is the "Akka", the pillar of support for the children in three age groups -- up to 6 years, between 6 and 12 and between 12 and 18. The first step on admission is toilet training. Then comes the crucial 'functional academics', which will set the range and direction of their capabilities. On the part of the parents and teachers, "the first step is acceptance that these children can never be like normal children and the only medicine for them is love and affection," she says. Sivasakthi Kaakkum Karangal, at 7, Ponniamman Koil Street, Alappakam, Chennai (www.bayindia.com/sivasakthi), which also has a day-care centre, is a mini-India with children from several States, many communities and religions. A branch was recently opened in Bangalore.
 Vijayakumari hopes that one day, with the development of technology in detecting abnormality in the prenatal stage itself, the world will no more have such afflicted children. She credits all her achievements to her faith in God and, most importantly, help from neighbours and society. "That is the reason I chose Chennai," says Vijayakumari, who comes from a middle class family in Kerala. Among awards she has received are one by the Rotary Club and the Millennium Award of the Gnanananda Trust.
For more details
contact:
Ms.C.C.Vijayakumari
Sivasakthi kaakum Karangal
No.3, Ponniamman Koil Street,
Alapakkam
Porur, Chennai-600116
Ph-4769848
Akshaya
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