fbpx
New podcast each Tuesday!

Made in His image: An Indian girl with autism flourishes at the Ashish Foundation

Share This Post

Here is a case study from our partners at the Ashish Foundation who have a countercultural approach to people with differing abilities in India. Learn about the beginnings of this program here. This story comes from Geeta Mondol, the Foundation’s founding director.

About their approach

We train our staff in a truth-centered view of children and people with differing abilities. Workshops are held where we discuss how the values we hold affect the way we work–for example, if we believe that children with disabilities are also created in God’s image, we give them the dignity of knowing what is the plan for the day, where we are taking them, and we let them make decisions regarding themselves. (My son Samarpan does beautiful art. However, he does not want to be an artist; he wants to be an office assistant. As co-heir to the kingdom of God, I need to allow him the dignity of choosing his career, rather than deciding that since he is good in art, he needs to be an artist.) Self advocacy is a big part.

The staff at the Ashish Foundation develop deep affections for the children they serve.
The staff at the Ashish Foundation develop deep affections for the children they serve.

   
We also would rather cajole the child to do an activity than force a child to do an activity. We have a zero-tolerance policy for any kind of aggression toward the student. Sharing with parents how their special-needs child is valuable and can be a blessing to the nation is sometimes news that seems too good to be true. People have a hard time believing it because they have always viewed the disability as a curse or a deficit.

A girl and her family flourish

Joy is 14 years old. She is one of our highest functioning students with autism. Joy is also a slow learner and, though her parents are poor farmers who live in a village outside Delhi, they were determined to find someone who could help them. This is Joy’s story.

Joy
Joy

In 2010, when Joy was 9 years old, her parents realized that they desperately needed help. They loved Joy, but they didn’t know how to help her. In this nation where even “typically abled” girls are treated as less important than sons in the wealthiest of homes, Joy’s parents made a bold move: They decided that Joy and her mother would move to Delhi in order to find someone who could help them with their daughter.

For four years, Joy and her mother lived in the only place they could afford in the “big city,” a slum, while they looked for a school where Joy could received services. Meanwhile, Joy’s father remained behind in the village to farm the land and earn a living. During those four years, Joy’s mother had Joy admitted to a few different schools that claimed to provide services for people with disabilities, but none proved true. In each school, Joy was simply put into the regular classroom with other children who mocked her and made fun of her. Not a single one of those institutions actually provided services to children with special needs.

Somehow, in 2014, Joy’s mother discovered the Ashish Foundation. We readily accepted her as a student. Joy was violent. She hit people, threw things, would not sit still, would not eat during snack time, and ran away from the classroom every chance that she got. She often cried, too, almost inconsolably, for her mother.

Finally, Joy’s mother volunteered to help. She came to school with Joy and sat in the back of the classroom so Joy didn’t feel alone. With her mother nearby, it only took a short time for Joy to settle in to the routine of school at the Ashish Foundation. After only one week, she stopped crying, started to cooperate with the teachers, and her mother was able to stop coming.

Joy has improved significantly since she joined the Ashish Foundation. Today, she enjoys school very much. She loves sports, including cricket and badminton. She engages in class activities, is cooperative with the teachers, and is no longer violent. She also is much more independent than when she first arrived, taking on tasks and accomplishing them with very little oversight. Most days, Joy is in Ankur, the vocational unit of the Ashish Foundation.

Ankur (Hindi for “seedling”) is a program that helps older students become as independent as possible, learning skills for independent living (cooking, shopping, good hygiene, etc.), leisure activities (dancing, sports, etc.) and vocation skills (making jewelry, coasters and gift bags),
Ankur (Hindi for “seedling”) is a program that helps older students become as independent as possible, learning skills for everyday living (cooking, shopping, good hygiene, etc.), leisure activities (dancing, sports, etc.) and vocational skills (making jewelry, coasters and gift bags).

   
We are so blessed to have Joy as a student here. We will be forever grateful to her loving parents who, though steeped in a culture which places little value on girls and even less on persons who are “differently abled,” were willing to make such sacrifices for their daughter.

Learned something new? Have a question? Enjoying this post? Let us know!

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Like what you're reading?

Subscribe to the DNA blog and get updates directly in your inbox.

Recent

Podcast Episode

The Imago Dei

What is your purpose as a Christian? To glorify God? To become Christlike and shine His light? Yes, but how… where does God most clearly lay out His purpose for humanity? In Genesis. This is when God created the world overflowing with beauty and potential, placed humans in it, and presented His first commision for us. Together we will unpack what it means to be made imago Dei, in the image of God. Understanding this concept is critical, and there are consequences if we do not. Learn how an understanding of imago Dei can change individuals, businesses, communities, and nations so that they flourish in the mission God’s given them.

Podcast Episode

Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder with Brian Chan

Truth, goodness, and beauty are the hallmarks of the Kingdom of God, but sadly we often overlook the “beauty.” We all see a crystal clear river and say it is beautiful. We see another stagnate with debris and trash and say it is polluted and ugly. Why do we share this universal understanding of beauty? Where does this shared understanding come from? There is an intrinsic answer here that points straight back to our Creator. Today we are joined by artist, entrepreneur, professor, author, speaker, and pastor Brian S. Chan. Brian wrote his thesis on the beauty of God and art in worship and has never looked back as he continues to share and deepen his understanding of beauty and the Kingdom. During our discussion, we asked is beauty objective, where does it come from, why do humans pursue ugliness, when did the church have a vision for beauty, and what does a theology of beauty look like? Last, we get practical and ask how can each of us apply this concept into our daily lives.

0
Would love your thoughts, please comment.x
small_c_popup.png

Let's have a chat

Learn how we helped 100 top brands gain success.