Impact Day '10

I got an oppurtunity to impact the lives at Helen Kellar, in Mahape, on the 11th of June along with my Impact Day Team - Sparsh. The day started with a Sign-Language prayer, which I have never experienced before. I was amazed to see how deaf and deaf-blind people try to reach God. Actually, I was touched by the prayer.We had a brief introduction of the Helen Keller Institute followed with the overview of some disabilities that challenge the people there.
Then we moved on to the respective activities like Curriculum Building, Sensory Garden, Fixing Path finding symbols and Theme Painting. In Curriculum Building, we made books which will be used by the children for this year's curriculum. 7-8 stories, 3 history books, 2-3 maths books, 8 puzzles, etc., we managed to make in the 4 hour tiring non-stopping session. After going through a story book of 'A Thirsty Crow', made by our team member, I was wondering if the creativity still exists among us. There were several other Creative minds that were scraching their brains with us, the people of HKIDB. It was their unparalled support, throughout the day, that helped us to achieve, what would have been, an unimaginable task. Later in the afternoon, while looking for a missing team member, I was perplexed to see how my Sensory Garden Team was toiling under the direct sunlight to set up a garden having plants with some texture and smell. It was indeed a remarkable effort that the team put in for sensory garden, which was a dream project for Mrs. Beroz Vacha, the CEO and Founder of HKIDB. Running in the entire institute like cats and dogs, I was glad to see how the path finding symbols were getting fixed thick and fast. These are the symbols that help blind people in navigating throughout the institute to reach different rooms. e.g. the spoons are used for kitchen, cycle handles for OT rooms, etc.
I couldn't have asked for more than watching 3 deaf students dancing on 'Desi Girl' number from Dostana. At the start of the performance I was unaware of their deafness, but it was unveiled only when the sound was purposly muted in the middle. It was sight, I don't know if I will be able to see that again, of 3-5 seconds of flawless dance with no sound. I wished they danced all the day long.
Well the day ended on a HIGH!!!! The sincere hardwork of over 60 days showed its outcome. We gathered a lot of extol for our work from the senior members of our firm, when they witnessed how we have impacted the lives at HKIDB!!!!!