Karatina University Nature Club students visited the Cheerful Special Home in Karatina town for a charity event on Sunday, 30th October 2022. The primary reason for the visit was to study the actual situation of Persons Living with Disabilities and promote awareness of the same. This visit aligns with the Club’s purpose of exposing its members to various areas of ecological and social importance.
During the visit, the Club held a ‘Chapati Forum’ where they prepared chapatis for the children. This gesture fostered interactions with the children.
Cheerful Special Home is a charitable institution started in 2005 by two volunteer teachers who, by virtue of their profession, realized the problems children with mental handicaps from low-income families and orphans were undergoing. The Home cares for, supports and provides quality services to mentally disabled children to be productive and valuable members of society.
The Club made recommendations on the importance of disability awareness and how it can help reduce the stereotypical mindset of society concerning PLWDs.
‘A growing number of innovative approaches for promoting access to higher education among students with disabilities are being implemented in colleges and universities. Such efforts should begin with ensuring that colleges and universities are accessible and support conducive learning environments. Providing these individuals with the knowledge, attitudes, and skills to create such environments is critically important. University faculty and staff are the primary conduits to realize such accessibility and support’, reads their Report in part.
The Club further recommends that the University, through the Dean of Students Office, should initiate disability awareness programs to educate staff and students regarding disabilities and give them the knowledge required to be responsible.
‘Disability awareness programs influence the overall environment of an institution since they educate staff and students on how to become better citizens’ the Report mentions.
The event was attended by sixty-two (62) Nature Club members and Ms. Jackline Kagu, a staff member in the Dean of Students Office.
The link below contains the photos taken during the event
https://photos.app.goo.gl/V4C7mj3cpzY6QaP98