OH! GOA

Dignified service to the differently abled Sr. Meena Dias, SFN

Origins of the call Having encountered several persons in my life, I recognize Sr. Mary Jane as an eminent personality who added purpose and beauty to my life. She selected me first from among the whole congregation as an apt person to do studies in special education in order to serve the differently abled children. I grabbed the opportunity and in 1990 after completing my B.Ed in special education for the hearing impaired children embraced this mission. The decision of Sr. Mary Jane to serve special children was certainly in consonance with the charism of our Congregation as per the vision of our Founder Fr. Faustino D’Souza to serve the ones on the margins of the society.

In fact, the call from God came through the then Director of Caritas-Goa, Msgr. Alberto Luis to the Congregation of the Holy Family of Nazareth, Sancoale, to serve special children at the St. Francis Xavier Training and Production Centre for the Handicapped in Old Goa a project of Caritas Goa under the Archdiocese of Goa and Daman.

The journey begins “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it”, rightly said Michel Angelo.

The primary task in the field of special education is to build the confidence not only of the children but also of the parents. Parents understand disability as a problem not as an opportunity. It is a herculean task to convince the parents about the abilities and capacities of their children. Simultaneously, however, having admitted their special children in a special school the expectations of parents are very high. They wait for immediate change and begin to get frustrated when behaviour modifications are not noticed sooner. One needs to understand that ‘sculpting’ requires endurance to discover the ‘statue’ of the special person.

Creating a positive mind frame Having worked for nearly thirty long years with children with hearing impairment, learning disability, orthopedically challenged, downsyndrome, intellectually disabled and the children with autism, it is a great feeling to notice how a positive mind frame has built their self-confidence.

“To do what you like and like what you do is indeed divine work.” It was enormous learning for me to understand the desire of the hearing impaired children some of whom had severe problem in speech and hearing, but showed great interest to communicate through speech. My role as a special educator was to assess the need of every child and build on their confidence to achieve what they sought. My training in speech was greatly challenged after rendering much time and energy when a group of hearing impaired students confidently sang “A happy birthday” song. Dreams don’t actualise unless one works toward it.

Different methodologies for special abilities Since disability is an opportunity it requires special methods to educate. In this regard, my training as well as my experience helped me to develop innovative teaching techniques in sign language and cued speech to improve the communication skills and also to guide teachers to write lesson plans in order to draw out the best from the students.

Besides, my creativity in the activities like wealth out of waste, gardening, training students for singing in choirs, patriotic songs, Christmas carols and preparing children for inter-school competitions have been joyous moments. Also taking the students on field trips, social gatherings and other inter-school activities enables them to engage with children of formal schools to face the greater world in order to prepare themselves to lead their life with dignity and self-confidence. Besides, they are also trained in household activities like cooking, maintaining health and hygiene and other functional skills.

It is also important to take care of their spiritual needs. Besides, the regular faith formation curricula taught according to their capacity, value education classes are also conducted.

Perseverance pays Once the parents realise that their child is only different and not unable, it creates a world of difference for the special children. Over the years, hundreds of children have passed out from St. Xavier’s Academy to move for better prospects.

Today, it is a matter of pride that some of them are the only bread earners of the family. They independently lead a happy married life and take care of their parents. Some are employed in good progressing companies, some work on cruise ships, few in the banks and still others have set up their own business. Some girls have set up their own tailoring shops and are taking care of their families.

My heart smiles with excitement since I was involved in shaping lives of special individuals by imbibing values in them to create dignified citizens of the society. The focus has not merely been academics but the overall development of a child.

Having worked under three Directors of Caritas Goa namely, Fr. Alberto Luis, Fr. Valeriano Vaz and now Fr. Maverick Fernandes, and the support from Fr. Savio Fernandes, I sincerely appreciate that though this is a Archdiocesan project all of them gave me the freedom to function and worthy motivation to grow in the service of the special children and young adults. I also had the good fortune of working alongside our dynamic Headmistress Sr. Monica Coelho for over two decades.

Goa State Best Teacher Award I was honoured on 13 th September 2019 with the Goa State Best Teacher’s Award at the hands of the Chief Minister of Goa. The State Government has honoured a special teacher and I am humbled to be the first recipient of it.

I accepted this award as not just recognition of my work but of the Church’s concern for the special persons. It is also respect shown to the importance of special education and of the special abilities of persons who otherwise would have been left aside.

The writer is a member of the congregation of the Holy family of Nazareth. She holds a Diploma in Special Education with specialization in Hearing Impairment. She is a senior special educator at St. Xavier’s Academy, Old Goa, Goa, and is engaged with special children for the last Thirty years.

ANNUAL SPORTS MEET The annual school meet of Fr. Agnel Central School, Pilar was held on 22nd November 2019, with much zeal and in spirit of true sportsmanship. The theme for the day was “TEAM –Together Everyone Accomplishes More”. The Principal Rev. Fr. Roncy Braganza, welcomed the Chief Guest Shri. V. M. Prabhu Dessai, The Executive Director of Sports Authority Goa & the Director of Sports & Youth Affairs, The Guest of Honour for the day Mr. Teddy Cardoso, a renowned Long Distance Runner and all the dignitaries present. The Annual Sports Meet was flagged off with an impressive March-Past led by Natasha Pereira, the Prime Minister of the school and the Deputy Prime Minister Aurick Pereira. The Contingents of the four Houses were well co-ordinated and marched to the rhythm of the school band. The School Flag was hoisted by the Chief Guest which was followed by the School Anthem ‘Growing in Fullness” composed by Rev. Fr. Domnic Alvares and sung by the school choir. In his welcome address, the Principal emphasized on the importance of holistic development and how sports fosters teamwork and leadership. The Awards for the Best Sports Boy & Best Sports Girl were won by Master Nathan Silveira and Ms. Delilah Rodrigues respectively. The Championship for the Best House for the Year 2019-20 was bagged by the Green House and the Runners-Up was the Blue House. Pilar News