Running for their dreams

Ketan Tanna / TNN / Feb 10, 2008, 01:05 IST

Text Size

Small
Medium
Large

Sister Ancy the principal of a school for mentally-challenged children, has become hopeful and ambitious about the sporting abilities of 30 of the 110 children in her school.

MUMBAI: Sister Ancy, principal of the Holy Cross Convent Special School in Thane, a school for mentally-challenged children, has become hopeful and at the same time ambitious about the sporting abilities of 30 of the 110 children in her school.
At the Mumbai zonal level athletic meet for special children in December 2007, her students won 24 medals. These children will now compete at the state-level competition to be held in Pune to select the best for the Bharat Special Olympics for challenged children.
The person she credits for this super achievement of her schoolchildren is Ravish Dobani, 27, who runs a chain of gymnasiums across Mumbai and in Thane.Ravish who has been coaching the children since 2003 on a volunteer basis, has brought about a huge change in the mental and physical condition of the children in her school, says Sister Ancy.
In 2002, Ravish was running an aerobic class at Powai's Hirnanandani Gardens where he met a volunteer from the Society for Service to Voluntary Agencies (SOSVA), an NGO which places volunteers across Mumbaibased on their skills. Since Ravish is a bodybuilder of sorts and a sports enthusiast, he was asked whether he could give time to train mentally-challenged children.

The next thing he knew, he was coaching them at the Gaushala Municipal School in Mulund, which has a separate section for the mentally-challenged. Among his first tasks was choreographing a dance because of his aerobic expertise. That he could play the keyboard helped. One thing led to another and his ability to teach mentally-challenged children was honed over time.
For someone who had never worked with special children, Dobani said it took some time but the key is to become their friend. "When you become friends with them, they do not resist if you try to teach them something".

He credits his friends, Jaishree Balsubramanian and Deepak Salvi, for being pillars of support. Once Dobani broke the ice with the kids, he and his teammates arranged picnics for the children. Care was taken that they visited all the same spots where the ‘normal' children were taken. And yes, the parents, too, came along so they could bond with the children in different surroundings.
In 2005, Holy Cross Convent Special School approached SOSVA, which then asked Dobani if he could help coach the school's children. Though the school was doing well, there was no coach to train the children in sports. The school wanted the kids to be ready to participate in the qualifying rounds of the Bharat Special Olympics. "Initially, I was not sure.
Some of the children were hyperactive. Also, one major problem is that these special children lose concentration the moment a new person or thing comes into the picture. In the beginning, to make them focus was difficult," says Dobani.
What Dobani did was to first make them his friend and next talk to them "nicely". "One cannot intimidate them." Of course, it helped that there was a teacher from the school who was always around. "I have coached hundreds. The ‘so-called' normal guys generally start complaining that they are tired, after some time. These mentally-challenged children rarely complain," says Dobani.
Since then he has been coaching the children 2-3 times a week. Whenever he does not have the time, Swati Ambane, a housewife and a member of his gym fills in.
With the right contacts, Dobani has ensured that the kids get good access to sporting facilities.
Of the 110 children, 30 were short-listed. Four of them are so good that they can compete in the mainstream, says Dobani. "Some have incredible strength and at times when we arm wrestle, they almost defeat me," smiles Dobani.

End of Article