VADODARA, June 7: After completion of this tailoring course I will join some other course,'' says 22-year-old mentally challenged Sejal Patel confidently today. She had once decided to commit suicide by plunging into the Sursagar.Polio-striken 20-year-old Mita Patel too found life not worth living until she joined the tailoring course in city.For both Mita and Sejal - and many physically and mentally handicapped girls - the Vocational Rehabilitation Centre (VRC), in industrial estate in Karelibaug, has served the role of a saviour. The VRC here is one of the 17 centres set up by the Central government's Labour and Employment ministry.Established in 1987, the centre today is the source of strength for the inmates and doing a yeoman's job by equipping them with various skills for employment.According to VRC Superintendent Ashok Joshi, the centre stands out from other rehabilitation centres as even illeterate girls above the age of 14 and with a minimum 40 per cent disability have the option of taking up a year's certificate course in commercial practices, tailoring or radio and television repairs, which also entitles them for a monthly stipend of Rs 100.Social worker Anjaniben Hathi, who is employed with the centre, says her job includes instilling confidence in the girls to convincing them to wear clippers (special boots worn by the physically handicapped).``It is a pleasure to see them walking, interacting and working in the workshop with confidence,'' she beams.But Joseph Anthony, radio and TV repairs course instructor in the centre finds his job a little more challenging than his counterparts. ``It is difficult to convince the girls to take up the course as it requires basic knowledge in science as well as physical strength, and is also a poor career option.''It is surprising that crucial posts like that of psychologists and rehabilitation officers in the centre have been lying vacant for the past 11 years. To add to this this centre has no qualified personnel in handling disability. All these factors have forced the girls to rehabilitate themselves.Luck too has not favoured the girls as unlike other professional courses, few employers are found to offer them jobs.Parents are also hesitant to send the girls to far off places for jobs, the authorities say adding that only two out of the five girls employed in a private hosiery company could continue.The state government's social defense directorate which pays a rent of Rs 27,000 per month for providing hostel facilities for the girls is feeling the pinch today, though the centre's Rs 25 lakhs budget for them seems exorbitant, considering the fact that the Jalaram Trust provides the food for the inmates, who are expected to make chapatis on their own.But all is not lost. When one hears the girls echo that the centre has provided them with a purpose in life and that they no more feel that they are a burden on their family is like a silver lining to a cloud.
