17-Aug-2015
MINI MURINGATHERI
Inmates of Prathyasha Bhavan and superintendent of the home K.I. Rabiya with
the vegetables cultivated in their compound in Thrissur.
THRISSUR: ‘Agriculture therapy,’ a novel project initiated to boost the morale
of mentally-challenged women, is reaping high yields.
Prathyasha Bhavan, a home for mentally-challenged women functioning in
Ramavarmapuram, near here, under the Social Justice Department, has been
successfully trying this novel way to make a remarkable change in the mental
and physical well-being of 25-odd inmates.
“The inmates, mainly mentally-challenged destitute women from various parts of
the country, show poor communication skills. Left by their dear ones on the
streets, they hardly speak or respond to communications. Most of them suffer
from poor health and various diseases,” said K.I. Rabiya, superintendent of the
home.
“We started the project more than two years ago on an experimental basis to
make a change in the lives of the inmates,” she said.
“The result was amazing. It changed the entire ambience of the Prathyasha
Bhavan. Waking up in the morning to flowering plants in our garden and
vegetables in the compound created miracles in the mental state of the inmates.
Their days started becoming busy. They came forward to work in the garden in
the morning and afternoon. For many of them, it was a rebirth,” Ms. Rabiya said.
“There was remarkable change in the way they were thinking, communicating, and
responding with each other. A team spirit developed between them slowly. There
was improvement in their sense of hygiene and efficiency. They became more
punctual, stopped using abusive languages, which became the part of their lives
due to life on the streets. The farming therapy also proved a good remedy for
sleep disorders,” she said.
Appreciating their attempt, the Social Justice Department approved the project.
Under the project, which they named ‘Swasraya Vila,’ the inmates were
categorised based on their physical and mental backwardness. Depending on their
efficiency to contribute to the project, they were engaged in various
activities from nurturing flowering plants to cultivating vegetables and
plantains.
Strenuous jobs such as ploughing the land and digging pits for plantain and
other vegetables were done by outside labourers. Only maintenance and nurturing
the garden were done by the inmates.
The department supported with funds.
At present, more than 38 types of vegetables are being cultivated in the garden
of the home.
The vegetables are mainly used at the home itself, the superintendent said.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-national/tp-kerala/farm-therapy-changes-lives-of-destitute-women/article7549001.ece
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