June is the month of school reopening. Besides school schedules, we also have to mark our calendars in June for Father's Day Celebration on 20th, SCI Awareness Day on 25th & Helen Keller's Birthday on 27th June.
Father's Day is celebrated on the 3rd Sunday of June in most of the countries. It is a day to not only honour your father, but all men who act as a father figure. Usually, when a child has special needs, the mother is 24x7 present with the child. The father seems to hang around in the background. It is observed that when a father plays an active role in the child's life, the progress is remarkable, the child is more secure & happy. I have come across few Dads who have done wonders for their child with special needs. Their involvement is total. I have the privilege to know Mr. Nagesh Ghadi, Prasad Ghadi's father who always took up night shifts since Prasad's birth to look after him during daytime because Prasad's mother is a teacher in a day school & used to take care of Prasad's needs at night. Prasad had Spinal Muscular Atrophy & needed constant attention & care.
Some of the special Dads have done some pioneering work in the field of disability. We have Dr. Dholakia who has initiated & continues to do great work for the Association of Welfare of Mentally Handicapped (AWMH) & several other committees. Late Mr. Damodar Tilak's book - 'For A Secure Tomorrow' in Finance section stands as a testimony of his lifelong commitment & involvement. We salute to all Dads who take active interest in the life of their child & make their family life complete & enriched.
I visited a wonderful website which shatters the myth of father's being passive, hard & opens a different dimension. The Dads have shared their experiences, their trials & triumphs of rearing their special needs child. Do log on to www.fathersnetwork.org.
June 25th is celebrated as ' Spinal Cord Injury Awareness Day'. Nina Foundation (Founder- Prof.Ketna Mehta) whose vision is to spread optimism & work towards rehabilitation of SCI person, will be presenting their annual 'RockStar Award' to that individual who has shown exemplary courage, renews the spirit of life &. won the battles of life inspite of SCI.
When we talk of winning the battles against all odds, one can not help but remember Helen Keller. June 27th is her birthday. Born in Tuscumbia, Alabama-USA, in 1880, Helen Keller developed a fever at 18 months of age that rendered her blind and deaf. With the help of a miracle teacher, Anne Sullivan, she learned sign language & Braille. Later on in life, she became a tireless advocate for people with disabilities. Helen Keller is the symbol of hope. She is the guiding force to many who are striving to inch ahead in spite of insurmountable odds. She spells the path from impossible to possible. Her words will always inspire & show us the light...
"Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow."
"One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar."
"When we do the best that we can, we never know what miracle is wrought in our life, or in the life of another."
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