Visitors at LRF

Atithi Devo Bhava, an Indian philosophy which in essence means that our guests are like gods and should be treated with love and respect. We at Latika Roy Foundation follow this ideology religiously to be completely honest we love having visitors as each one of them leaves us enriched with their experiences, their success stories, their knowledge and their desire to make a difference. And the children at the Foundation particulary love guests as they get to meet new people and get their photographs clicked. Trust me we have some of India’s top models waiting to be discovered.This month too we played host to a varied group of visitors. A very special group that visited us quite recently was the group from Akanksha. Akanksha is a Mumbai based NGO that works primarily in the field of education, providing both formal and informal education to less privileged children.The group was inquisitive, sensitive and very intelligent. It was their first visit to Dehradun and they unanimously agreed that the environment here is wonderful. They loved the lush greenery and the climate which even in the month of May they said was better than Mumbai’s!The group headed by Lopa and Shefali visited the Early Intervention Centre, the Training Centre, the Karuna Vihar School and the College for Vocational Training. The children had great fun playing with our students at the Early Intervention Centre and one could see them generally having a great time.One of the students from Akanksha mentioned that they had all been around children with special needs at some point of time in their lives. They always made it a point to be polite and kind to the children but they had always considered them different from themselves but by coming here she realized that special children are not very different from other children, they just communicate differently. It was heartening to hear this analysis from a 14 year old girl, because this is a point that we as an organization have been trying to tell people. The children at Latika Roy Foundation or any other foundation working in the same field are not different from others, their dreams, hopes and needs are similar to others. They deserve the same respect, opportunities, education and love that everyone else deserves.

The team’s last stop was at the College of Vocational Training where they were served a scrumptious meal cooked for them by the trainees at the Centre. Post lunch the group hung around at the centre looking at the products made by our trainees, talking to the students and teachers. In fact it felt like no one wanted to leave!

When Lauren, one of our volunteers came for her class the students and teachers from Akanksha had a wonderful time painting with our trainees! We would like to thank the students and teachers of Akanksha for taking out time and visiting us. We had a wonderful time and will cherish the cards of appreciation that you left behind.