The Special Needs Project
SL Volunteers work at four centres for people with with a range of physical and mental disabilities. Volunteers run activities such as art, music and playing games.
When SL Volunteers first visited this special needs centre, we were shocked at the poor conditions and felt instantly out of our depth. We sought advice and support from a local charity supporting the disabled and after some training we began running activities. A few months later, a qualified disabilities nurse joined the team and with support from everyone, she diagnosed all 80 patients and together we wrote a guide so that every volunteer in the future would know how to deal with each individual.
Among SL Volunteers’ many achievements, the complete transformation of this centre is our greatest. People once thought to be unresponsive are now joining in with activities and every morning the centre is filled each morning with music and laughter and there is art all over the once bare walls.
Training
The Special needs training workshop is run by a Speech and Language therapist from Sri Lanka. Volunteers are given a guide to the different disorders and encouraged to think of new ways to work at the centres. Some activities volunteers have run so far include drawing, weaving, frisbee, play with balloons and bubbles and the often requested music and dancing.
SL Volunteers work at four centres for people with with a range of physical and mental disabilities. Volunteers run activities such as art, music and playing games.
When SL Volunteers first visited this special needs centre, we were shocked at the poor conditions and felt instantly out of our depth. We sought advice and support from a local charity supporting the disabled and after some training we began running activities. A few months later, a qualified disabilities nurse joined the team and with support from everyone, she diagnosed all 80 patients and together we wrote a guide so that every volunteer in the future would know how to deal with each individual.
Among SL Volunteers’ many achievements, the complete transformation of this centre is our greatest. People once thought to be unresponsive are now joining in with activities and every morning the centre is filled each morning with music and laughter and there is art all over the once bare walls.
Training
The Special needs training workshop is run by a Speech and Language therapist from Sri Lanka. Volunteers are given a guide to the different disorders and encouraged to think of new ways to work at the centres. Some activities volunteers have run so far include drawing, weaving, frisbee, play with balloons and bubbles and the often requested music and dancing.