Children with Special Needs
A Much Needed Outreach
Background
In recent years the unmet needs of special needs children in India became very clear to us. As a result, we began seeking ways to reach out to such children who live in the villages around our His Rest Retreat Centre. Here is a report of what happened in the last half of 2022:
Thus far we have discovered 25 of these children. Their needs include hearing and speech impairments, mild to severe intellectual and developmental disabilities, cerebral palsy, autism, epilepsy, and physical disabilities. Most have parents who are close blood relatives. The families are very poor, and most are day laborers. The challenges of caring for these children have left the parents physically and mentally exhausted. They need encouragement, prayer support, counseling, and financial help. To date, we have conducted three one-day camps to address the needs of the children and their parents. Here are some of their stories: