A child enthusiast

Next week, I will be loosing a colleague from the team, who has been with us from the beginning of the Developmental Paediatrics and Child neurology department, where I work. She got married recently and is now getting ready to relocate to be with her husband in another city.

Chintu, an occupational therapist trained at the Christian Medical College, Vellore, happened to drop in to visit the department on the third day after we started the services. She wanted to find out if she could work with children and be a part of the team in the department. 

We were in the process of decorating the department and getting it ready for welcoming children. She got enthused by the idea of creating a child friendly environment and converting the open space into a stimulating setting for children. She got many pictures that children are fond of, and pasted them on the wall. Chintu was able to get the toy cupboard organised in each room. 

She became the trusted friend of Susan and Tinu, the other members of the team then. Susan had years of experience of being involved with children having special needs and found in Chintu an enthusiast and a dependable colleague. They became the resource for all the planning and provision of services for children and Tinu provided the logistic support from the office. 

Chintu has been versatile in her expression of abilities and interests. She bonded to children spontaneously and related to parents affirmingly. She was keen to help parents to overcome some difficulties they faced, in providing care for their children by demonstrating simple and effective therapy plans. I found her ready to listen, improvise and organise provisions for parents who needed financial support to buy orthotic appliances.

It was her dream to start a play group for children, which now functions regularly. She organised the campus children to host and perform for  families of children with special needs during the Christmas get together. Since we got thinking about the Hall of Residence fort short term stay for children and Early Learning Centre for children to provide help for the developmental needs, Chintu inspired everyone with her commitment to draw up the plans and create a time-line for beginning of the services.

In the department, we would miss a friendly, prayerful and caring person. Her clinical abilities, relational skills, friendly disposition and self-giving attitudes enriched the department immensely. She sees an opportunity in every situation and approaches the difficulties with ease and confidence. She has been the catalyst for creating the team effort in the department. Since Sneha, Honey and John joined during the last few months, I noticed how she made it easy for them to grow in the sense of belonging. 

There are some people who are naturally gracious and thoughtful. Chintu is one such person. 

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)