Shristi, enlightening lives

Dr Preeti Nandy and Dr Rajiv Nandy are the proud parents of their first child Shristi which encourages spastic children to understand their potential.

Although Shristi is a school for spastics, the Nandys consider it nothing less than their own child. Their affection towards this school convinced them to open Shristi in three other locations: Vivek Vihar in Delhi, Raj Nagar in Ghaziabad and Greater Noida as well. The Nandys talk about their initiative for the spastics, its success and their biological children.

The first baby
Dr Rajiv Nandy is an educational psychologist and Dr Preeti Nandy is masters in neuro and MBA in hospitality management. The idea came to the mind of Dr Rajiv while he was dealing with several spastic kids. "I get many cases of spastic kids and in most of the cases, parents turn hostile towards such kids. They are not ready to accept the fact that their child is spastic. I discussed the idea to open a school for such kids with my wife so that I can prove people that these kids too are talented," revealed Dr Rajiv Nandy.
With no government help and sponsor, Nandys opened this school with their own savings. In Shristi, besides formal education, spastic children are involved in cultural shows such as dance and singing events. This enhances their confidence to face the world with dignity. A nominal fee is charged from the parents of such kids and those who cannot afford the charges are provided education free of cost.

Success tales
Aritra Ghose, a 14-year-old boy who happened to have autism, has set the right example for everyone and has raised hopes of parents of such kids. Aritra joined Shristi at a very tender age when he was put into formal special education programme where he got trained not only in academics but also in other areas of development including social and communication skills and physical and ADL skills.
Aritra eventually upgraded to the NIOS programme where he took lessons in NIOS curriculum under the guidance of Shristi teachers. He scored 84 in mathematics, 83 in computers, 81 in English, 51 in Hindi and 46 in science in his NIOS results.
Wheel chair-bound cerebral palsy patient Shivangi Jain overcame her disability for getting successful in life and proved herself by successfully clearing her 10th and 12th NIOS exams under the able guidance of Shristi School.

Shreya, Rishi and Preeti
While naming the school Shristi, neither Preeti nor Rajiv Nandy realised one thing. It was explained by their 13-year-old daughter Shreya. "My children know what their parents are doing through this initiative. To get associated with our initiative, my daughter Shreya once told me that Shristi is a combination of my son Rishi (10-year-old), me and her. The Shr is from Shreya, Ishi is from Rishi and Ti from Preeti," explained Preeti.
Both their children often visit Shristi with their parents and interact with spastic kids.

Future plans
"I and Rajiv are planning to start professional courses for the spastic as after completing their schooling, these kids are left with no option. The professional courses will help them earn their living and be independent. We are also planning to involve more speech therapy programmes," says Dr Preeti Nandy.

All for Shristi
•With no government help and sponsor, Nandys opened this school with their own savings. In Shristi, besides formal education, spastic children are involved
in cultural shows such as dance and singing events. This enhances their confidence to face the
world with dignity. A nominal fee is charged from the parents of such kids and those who cannot afford the charges are provided education free of cost.
•While naming the school Shristi, neither Preeti nor Rajiv Nandy realised one thing. It was explained by their 13-year-old daughter Shreya. "My children know what their parents are doing through this initiative. To get associated with our initiative, my daughter Shreya once told me that Shristi is a combination of my son Rishi (10-year-old), me and her. The Shr is from Shreya, Ishi is from Rishi and Ti from Preeti," explained Preeti.

--TARUN KHANNA