Children with disabilities in rural Kullu to get support at home thanks to mobile therapy initiative

A temp traveller equipped with all the tools and facilities needed to provide therapy to children with disabilities at their homes sounds too good to be true. That’s exactly what Aash Child Development Center in Himachal Pradesh plans to offer starting next month.

From December, children with intellectual and developmental disabilities in remote Kullu, Himachal Pradesh, will get the required therapy and support right at their doorstep.

That’s what Therapy on Wheels announced by Aash Child Development Center promises. The centre is an initiative the Samphia Foundation founded by Dr Shruti More.

Therapy on Mobile is a mobile medical van provided by Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency Limited (IREDA) as part of its CSR initiative. The vibrant blue and yellow van is air-conditioned and comes equipped with all the tools and facilities found at the main centre.

Targeted at remote areas

The mobile van has a projection system and a drop-down panel at the rear end which can be converted into a stage. There is space to seat two kids inside as well. It is designed such that all the interventions we offer at the main centre can be done in the van. There is a treadmill inside and a public address system that will be used to conduct awareness camps in remote areas. – Dr Shruti More, Founder, Samphia Foundation

The idea of a mobile van is something Shruti started thinking about last year.

“Our dream is to reach out to every last mile child in need of therapy”, she says. This van will make it possible to realise the dream of reaching out to 300 children in 2021. “There are huge gaps in getting our services to remote places. With this van, our health orders can go right to their homes”.

Aim to reach 300 children in 2021

The first mobile van will be launched on 3 December to mark the International Day for Persons with Disabilities. The van has been handed over to Samphia by IREEDA.

Speaking on the occasion, IREDA Chairman and Managing Director Pradip Kumar Das said the therapy–centre-on-wheels, will provide physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy to children with disabilities.

The mobile therapy unit will also be used to reach out to children supported by various government schemes like Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan and the Rashtriya Bal Swasthya Karyakram (RKBSK), adds Shruti.

Also Read:

• Aash Children Development Centre aims to reach out to children with disabilities in remote Himachal Pradesh