Promila Chandra Mohan, Founder, Society for Rehabilitation of the Mentally Challenged - SOREM, Chandigarh. Her life led by a divine hand.
Ms Mohan is a former national level athlete, a mathematics teacher, and an area director of the Northwest Zone Special Olympics Society. A totally left-brain disciplined person who allowed no room for error. However, in 1986 she had a calling to establish SOREM. Her metamorphosis commenced. She transformed into a right-brain compassionate missionary whose purpose was to ease the burden of mentally challenged children. That was 30 years ago.
Ms Mohan’s insights into the field exploded after she attended a course at an institute for the mentally challenged in Hyderabad. Her mission crystallized. She visualized an institute, customized for every nuance of learning, for children with special needs. Currently, SOREM is the only center for special children in India that works with the international NGO Global Autism Project. The NGO trains SOREM’s staff in the latest teaching techniques. Best practices.
The learning process at SOREM is a mix of one-on-one sessions, group activities, as well as outdoor experiences. The student-teacher ratio for the mentally challenged children is 5:1; and that for autistic children is 2:1. Physiotherapy, as well as occupational and speech therapy are always one-on-one sessions. Further, parents are also involved in the total learning process.
The journey for Ms Mohan has not been all roses. Her greatest challenge proved to be land acquisition. She wanted the institute to be built in the middle of a prime residential area. She believed this would increase the social acceptance of children with special needs. She even refused a plot of land offered by the government outside the city. In 1989 she finally built an institute of international standards. It is a haven that nurtures children with autism and other mental disabilities.
Today, more than 100 children stroll and joyously skip on a play ground that radiates nature and allows them to engage their senses. The campus has an outdoor skating rink, basketball court, and a basement for activities such as table tennis, carom, yoga and dance classes.
Ms Mohan’s labor of love has not only healed the children under her care, it has also led to a deconstruction of her inner self. The former disciplinarian can now scarcely speak of her students without getting emotional about them.
We congratulate Promila Chandra Mohan. Our Qimpro Gold Standard 2016 for Education.