After many months of preparation, TAARANA, Vijayaratnam Foundation’s special needs school in Malaysia, held an Open Day event at its centre in Kuala Lumpur from 10am to 4pm, on 14 May 2011.

TAARANA aims to provide quality education facilities for young children between the ages of six and 12 who face challenges with delayed development in academic, social and adaptive skills, also known as Mild Intellectual Disability (MID).

Hence, the objective of the Open Day was to provide these parents and children with an overview of what TAARANA really has to offer. During the event, parents were able to see, touch and experience first-hand, the high quality facilities, teaching aids, and also enquire about the types of specialised programmes and curriculum offered at the centre.

There was also a special presentation made by TAARANA’s Occupational Therapist and Speech Therapist, who incorporated some of the teaching aids in their presentation, to demonstrate their use as effective teaching tools.

Besides getting a feel of TAARANA’s conducive, attractive and comfortable learning environment, parents also had an opportunity to interact with the teaching staff, all of whom have been trained specifically to handle children with special needs.

The overall turn-up for the event was impressive, and based on feedback received, many parents found the session to be highly informational and beneficial. Many even expressed their confidence that TAARANA was the right place for their child.

Vijayaratnam Foundation is grateful to all QI staff who were there at the event to lend a helping hand with the children. We hope to continue developing the centre into a fully equipped, purpose-built school that can cater to the needs of many more kids up to the age of 16.

Through TAARANA, we hope to help these wonderful children make a smooth transition into mainstream society, with the ability to lead a fulfilled, normal life.