Prayaan is a leadership program initiated by the MIND Trust with the primary aim of inspiring children to dream big and reach their full potential. The program provides a platform for children to discuss their challenges and express their ambitions, emphasizing that disability should not hinder their aspirations. The tagline of the project, "Identity Beyond Illness," serves as a guiding principle for every child involved.
Since its inception in January 2021, Prayaan has made remarkable progress, completing three batches by the end of 2022, with a total of 36 students benefiting from the program.The sessions are facilitated by a pair of eminent subject professionals.
The main objectives of the project are as follows:
1. Help children understand themselves better and discover their inner strength.
2. Equip children with essential life skills to tackle adolescent problems independently.
3. Develop coping skills to deal with challenges associated with their illnesses effectively.
4. Nurture leadership skills by encouraging self-awareness, empathy towards peers, and the ability to support and help others.
5. Foster an understanding of the community and help participants expand their networks.
Throughout the project, various online sessions were conducted for the children, designed to be fruitful and provide valuable knowledge in a simple and accessible manner. These classes aimed to contribute to the all-around development of the children, boosting motivation, inspiration, and self-esteem. The Prayaan project's holistic approach, which encompasses artistic, motivational, and interactive sessions, played a significant role in enriching the lives of the participating children.
The session includes fun games, workouts to improve cognitive skills, and short speeches. The participants’ abilities are always praised. During the session, children’s videos, YouTube links, as well as other entertaining videos and games are played. Their craftsmanship, singing, and mimicking are also encouraged to shine.
Every child takes an active part in each session of Prayaan. Parents were delighted to notice the positive changes in their children within just ten sessions. They are enthusiastic about the prospect of continuing this programme. Every month, the children from the initial batch get together for a talk.
Dr. Arun Sadasivan (Montfort Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore) and Dr. Manjusha Warrier G (Christ University, Bangalore) led and arranged Prayaan’s sessions, where we saw the beautiful convergence of music, games, and joy. Members of the MinD trust, Krishnakumar K.K, Divya.S, and Muhammed Jabir, assisted the day-to-day progress. The initiative, which was designed for the MinD trust’s children, has flourished and gained great significance.
Prayaan’s coordinators are preparing to start the next session with a fresh group of 15 youngsters. Every child in Prayaan yearns to visit the beaches. It will be completed with the help of volunteers in their respective districts once the Covid pandemic situation has passed.
We hope to live in a community where we can help children have a decent and happy life by conquering the diseases and limitations caused by muscular dystrophy and spinal atrophy. They too like all of us have every right as well as the ability to lead a happy and fulfilling life. They have formed a group in which they can express their emotions and create connections through Prayaan. We’d like to extend our programme to other differently-abled children to provide them with a similar chance to what we accomplished here and encourage them to improve the benefits they have gained through this programme.
Mobility in Dystrophy (MIND) Trust was formed in 2017, by us patients suffering from Muscular Dystrophy (MD) & Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA). In 2016, we started off as a small Whatsapp group of patients reaching out to each other.
With enthusiastic employees and volunteers, we are ready to support you no matter any time.