Khajuri Kalan

Country information

SOS India has been asked many times to start a project for children with special needs. All over the country, there is a great lack of institutions which help mentally or physically challenged people to develop their abilities and to live in dignity. At the average SOS Children's Village, the SOS mothers do not have enough time to give children with special needs all the attention they need. That is why it was decided to start an SOS Children's Village for children with special needs. The government of the state of Madhya Pradesh provided a piece of land, which is located at a distance of approximately 40km from the town of Bhopal. For the time being, twelve family homes adapted to the children's special needs will be built. Each home will have three bedrooms. The mother's bedroom will be big enough to sleep one or two infants if necessary. The children's bedrooms will be equipped with single beds for children who are severely challenged; the other children will sleep in bunk beds. The rooms, especially the bathrooms, will be designed for children with wheelchairs or walking aids. Each SOS mother will have a family helper who is trained to look after children with special needs. The SOS families at Khajuri Kalan will be smaller than those at the average Indian SOS Children's Village. In addition to the administrative buildings common to all SOS Children's Villages, there will be several open-plan buildings where physical therapy, occupational therapy and sports activities can take place. Since most of the children living at SOS Children's Village Khajuri Kalan will be in need of long-term medical care, SOS Children's Villages is planning to open an SOS Medical Centre, which will provide this kind of care. The SOS Medical Centre will also have an out-patient unit for about 300 people, which will be open to the population of the neighbourhood during the day.