When teachers came home with bread, biscuits & chocolates

When teachers came home with bread, biscuits & chocolates

MT.Saju@timesgroup.com

19.05.2020

A couple of days ago, three teachers of the Panchayat Union Middle School at Savulur in Krishnagiri district set out with food packets (mainly bread and biscuits) and groceries to be distributed to differently abled children of a governmentrun institution in Kaveripattinam block.

At one house, as a teacher handed over a packet, a onearmed girl couldn’t hold it tight and it slipped to the floor and the contents spilled out. More such incidents were witnessed at the other houses, all having differently abled children.

The continuing lockdown has compounded the woes of the families, already deflated by abject poverty. “My daughter doesn’t eat well, because we are not able to provide her a healthy and tasty meal. My husband lost his job and we don’t know how to manage,” said the mother of a disabled child.

The teachers distributed relief material to 40 families of the students of the school for special children who have been sent back home as soon as the lockdown began on March 24. “We distributed the relief material in two packets. One with rice and groceries, and the other with biscuits, bread and chocolates. Since the children need special care, they depend mainly on their mothers. Many families are having a tough time,” said Sugavana Murugan, senior teacher at the Panchayat Union Middle School in Savulur who led the team.

The teachers of the school have contributed a major portion of their salary as well as relief material to the initiative. “Since the special school was closed due to the lockdown, we knew that the children must be having a tough time. Parents of many disabled children don’t know how to manage the situation. Many parents are running out of money because they are jobless now. We are happy we could do this at the right time,” said Murugan. “We will monitor the families. If they need more help, we will do it.”

The donation drive, according to Murugan, is not over as they have more houses to cover in other villages. “We have finished distribution to only 40 families. We will be covering more houses in other villages in the coming days,” he said.

HELPING HAND: Teachers of the Panchayat Union Middle School at Savulur distribute relief materials to the families of disabled children