In less than 3 months, 250 students from the Little Flower Convent School for the Blind and deaf in Chennai have to appear for board exams and they are unsure whether they would be well equipped for it.
The residential school was to resume functioning from December 14, but had decided to stay closed until January 6 as they had lost substantial aid meant for people with physical disabilities like hearing aids, special desks and benches, Braille printers and computers which are crucial. The school, which houses 927 students, was in darkness for almost 23 days and has lost equipment worth Rs 30 million during the floods.
As the school is facing a serious cash-crunch they have been focusing on cleaning the premises but, claim that it would be difficult to reopen without the materials which would come only with donations.
"We have lost our group hearing aids and Braille printer, which is essential for teaching here. A lot of our furniture, computers, over 1000 audio cassettes and CDs, books in Braille and teaching aids were also damaged," said Sister Amala, Correspondent, Little Flower Convent for the Blind and Deaf.
A campaign run by Milaap is looking to raise Rs 20 lakh, which will help the school buy 1,000 group hearing aids and two Braille printers, in addition to restoring their computer lab.
If you wish to donate to the school, please follow this link.