Made by mentally challenged persons

A visit to the Kerala State Science and Technology Museum (KSSTM) at PMG here is incomplete without a visit to the horticulture therapy garden, the cactus and succulent park, the butterfly garden, or the rows of potted medicinal plants on its premises.

Behind the topiary, trimmed hedges, and mowed grass at the KSSTM is the hard work of a group of mentally challenged persons who are past and present residents of C.H. Mohammed Koya Memorial State Institute for the Mentally Challenged at Pangappara.

Every day, four of a group of seven reach the KSSTM before 8.30 a.m. and water the plants, pluck weeds, loosen the soil, and mow the grass till it is time to go back at 4.30 p.m. Three supervisors P. Vijayakumar, Santhosh B., and Suma K.R. oversee their work and guide them.

Quizzed about the arduous work, Shamnad, Anish V., Anish V. Nair, and Titus say watering the plants and mowing the grass is what they love the most. Sajeev and Vysakh are the two other youth who work in the gardens.

While Shamnad lives at the Mohammed Koya institute, Anish, Anish Nair and Titus live with their families. They say they spend most of the time back home watching television as they do not have friends.

Pay

But they make up for this lack of companionship by working together at the KSSTM and tending to the plants and in turn benefiting from it. They are also paid on the basis of the number of days they work in a month.

Says supervisor Santhosh B., “Here, they can interact with each other and with other staff members. They have picked up how to behave in social settings. They are more independent, and even take buses to and from work.”

KSSTM director Arul Gerald Prakash who takes a personal interest in the gardens spread over 2.5 acres says working with the plants has been of tremendous help to the mentally challenged youth. “Some of them have been coming here for nearly nine years. It has helped in their personality development.”

The KSSTM, he says, has got the President’s award ‘Divyangjan 2016’ for activities to empower the differently abled.

There are plans for similar gardens in the Science City at Kottayam and the Regional Science Centre in Chalakudy to employ more mentally challenged persons so that they can earn a living.

“This model has also been taken up by the National Council of Science Museums, and they are starting such gardens in their science centres,” says Dr. Arul Gerald Prakash.