Opportunities to find deeper powers within ourselves come when life seems most challenging. Its one such challenge that pushed K.V. Sowmya to harness her innate powers into an opportunity to help the specially-abled. It’s with these inmates of her school Karunamayi Foundation in city that Sowmya finds solace and braces herself to face her tomorrows which still look challenging!

Life for Sowmya, a Journalism Post-graduate, was all pink and rosy, till her husband Rajesh, a journalist with a popular national daily, succumbed to depression, leaving her to fend two young kids and a family that made her go through the travails of widowhood! Driven to the brink of despair by the taboos of the society she was surrounded by, Sowmya could not pursue her studies in Mental Disorders, which she was very passionate about. On one of her visits to a school for special kids, which her nephew attended, her interest in dealing with people with special needs was rekindled when her nephew was treated successfully and joined the mainstream which further pushed her interest. It was then she decided to move from Mandya to Mysuru and started the Karunamayi Foundation, a day school for the specially-abled in a rented building in TK Layout. Despite offering free services, Sowmya had to run the school for a more than a year with just one kid!

Undeterred by the poor response, Sowmya with a meagre income to manage her life with a two-year-old daughter and an eight-year-old son, decided not to close down the school, as her passion was to work with people with mental disabilities.

When the neighbours of the only student of Sowmya’s school noticed a visible improvement in the way the child learnt to manage herself, curious parents of children with similar disorders visited the school and apprehensively sent their wards there. Today, the school has 35 inmates between the age group of 4 and 43 years, all with different levels of disabilities. No fee was collected all these years but now to bring in a little responsibility amongst the parents, the school charges a very nominal fee of Rs. 100 every month.

Depending on the level of disability, the inmates are given vocational training and three children have managed to pass their SSLC last year.

Those in vocational training are taught to make paper bags and woollen garlands. This year the school was given an opportunity to open a stall at My Build Expo where it managed to earn Rs. 12,500 by selling products.

Sowmya fondly recalls the help extended by Deputy Commissioner C. Shikha, who gave the special kids an opportunity to take part in the march past during last year’s Independence Day celebrations.

Managing an institution with meagre resources is a big challenge which Sowmya still faces. There are some good Samaritans who do come to help. One Mr. Balaji Srinivas, residing in Oman, has donated a Omni van and pays the salary of one teacher and also the monthly rent of the building. He is even prepared to construct a building for the school, if a site is allotted.

The journey of these seven years hasn’t been easy for Sowmya. “It isn’t about finances alone. It’s the taboos and the conflicts within and outside that arise when a woman loses her husband at a young age. In spite of all the progress that we speak of, our society still has ample doses of regressive thinking which can push women to the brink of total despair. It’s your determination and grit to go ahead and do what you passionately believe that gives you a purpose to live,” says Sowmya, who wants her daughter who is now in Class 5 and her son in Class 10 to pursue their education in the field of special education. The school organises a big cultural event every year with more than 300 children participating in dance competitions. Apart from giving a gift to each child, the first three winners are given cash prizes too. This year the school plans to hold a summer camp for specially disabled kids from April 15- 30, the venue of which is yet to be decided.

Though slow, the progress shown by those who enrol into her school is a big motivation for Sowmya and her staff. Sowmya proudly introduces Nethra a 17-year-old girl, who came in four years ago and needed help for everything, but not she not only manages herself well but manages others too! Sowmya also sadly speaks of Priyanka who had to suffer because of the carelessness of her father, who while trying to hit his wife hit the four-year-old on the neck resulting in a severe damage to a nerve rendering her speechless and mentally deranged! The father abandoned the mother and child! The mother who was finding it very difficult to manage her life, found a saviour in Sowmya! She admitted Priyanka ( who is now 17) to the school and earns a living by stitching clothes during her free time.

Sowmya has plans to expand the school which is presently located in TK Layout. The school runs from 10 am to 4 pm. If you do drop in, take with you your stocked old newspapers and magazines, as it will help them make paper bags and bins, which bring in some revenue to the school.