The year is drawing to a close and as ever during the festive season the PPM team is looking for ways to give back and to share the holiday spirit.
For the 2018 Christmas celebrations, we have decided to refrain from spending money on Christmas gifts. Instead, in the name of all our clients and partners, PPM will be actively supporting the KIRAN Village in the area of Varanasi/Benares in northern India – an institution, which promotes integrated education and rehabilitation for differently abled and marginalized children and young adults.
pporting the Kiran Village is a family affair for us: Hampi Stastny, professional orthopedic technician, back-up driver for PPM and father of Oli Stastny has been visiting the Kiran institution on a regular basis for the past decade, providing hands on support to their Orthotic & Prosthetic Unit. His voluntary work is a matter of dedication to create a brighter future for the children and young adults at Kiran Village. Therefore, every penny of this year’s Christmas budget will go into financing 13 wheelchairs for the children at Kiran Village.
About KIRAN Village
The KIRAN Village in the area of Varanasi/Benares (north India) offers differently abled children and young adults a comprehensive and individually tailored range of education and care services. The majority of the by now almost 400 children and teenagers at KIRAN Village live with physical, mental or multiple disabilities, caused for example by cerebral palsy, polio, rickets or tuberculosis.
KIRAN’s dream is to see a society where differently abled men and women from marginalized communities may see no discrimination, rejection and are embraced by society. They are dedicated towards a holistic development of differently abled children and youths, which includes education, rehabilitation, vocational trainings and social integration in a barrier free environment. KIRAN aims to empower differently abled children and young adults from marginalized families to take care of their own needs and become fully included in mainstream society.
A team of well-educated professionals attends the children and their families at KIRAN Village and many of the surrounding towns. They care for the rehabilitation (diagnosis, therapy, medical measures, orthopedic aids, prevention) as well as basic education and vocational training. Furthermore, there is also an affiliated school for special needs teachers. KIRAN also accepts children without disabilities – mostly from very poor backgrounds, in order to promote mutual acceptance and social integration.
The care services provided at KIRAN Village include among others:
- Parent & Childcare Unit
Parents are guided and children are diagnosed - Out-reach services
Individual counseling and guidance - Orthotic & Prosthetic Unit
Produces a range of assistive devices, highly customized based on individual needs in order to bridge the gap to maximum possibility - Physio Unit
Various types of therapy to facilitate children’s rehabilitation - Mothers Training
Parents, particularly mothers, are trained to look after their special need children - Psychology Services
Psycho therapy to children - Speech Therapy Services
Works with children who have communication related issues - Inclusive Education
Raises awareness towards the importance of education. Capacity building for school teachers, co-ordination with government officials to ensure dlivery of benefits and protect rights of differently abled children and marginalized girls - Clinic Services
In-house clinic provides care to all students
KIRAN originates from the Hindi word for ‚sunbeam’. Founded in 1990 the KIRAN village shall present a ray of sunlight for people of different origin, caste, religion and language – an optimistic interreligious and intercultural institution promoting a society without stigma towards the differently abled ones.