Insight in association with State Women’s Forum of the Kerala Federation of the Blind conducted a workshop on accessible technology in Malappuram. The Akshaya centre in Mongum was the venue of the week-long programme that was inaugurated on 5 June. Seventeen participants attended the workshop. Malappuram MLA Sri. Ubaidulla, Kondotti MLA Sri. Muhammed Unni Haji, Block Panchayath President Sri. T T Koyammu and KFB Women’s Forum President K P Sharafunneesa attended the closing ceremony.

The classes for the ninth batch of students concluded on 30 May 2011. Insight staff gave a felicitous farewell to its students on the day. The IGNOU examination for the batch that comprised 33 students were held on two consecutive days, starting 31 May. Prof. T. U. K. Menon, programme-in-charge officer, IGNOU, administered the exam procedures. Those who qualify the test will receive an IGNOU certificate.

A second round of Summer Magic 2, summer day camp for children with special needs, was held at the Insight centre for children in the humid month of May. The camp that began on 16 May 2011 was conducted for young men and women, those above 13 years of age. The enthusiasm and understanding Insight gained from Summer Magic 1 provided the means to accomplish the purpose of the camp. The motto of the camp was to aid special children develop social skills and Summer Magic 2 served to lay a worthy start. The activities in the camp was on the order of the first camp, except they were fashioned to meet the cognitive abilities of the participants. Motivational speaker Brahma Nayakam led off the camp with an ice-breaking session. On the other days, the camp begin with a one hour session on yoga and meditation. This was followed by gardening, music and ICT sessions. On alternate days, the camp offered arts & crafts, games and listening period, in which the participants were read out a passage and were made to fill out a worksheet based on it. They relished the puppetry lessons by Subin, a puppeteer from Malappuram. And also blissfully played their roles in a skit “The Unfruitful Tree”. On 21 May, the final day of Summer Magic, children went on a magical quest with Preeth, a budding magician. The camp came to a close with counselling session for parents. Children performed a song for the parents and gifted them with Thank You cards they had created. The feedback we received from the parents gives credentials to the recognition of the camp. Most of the parents remarked that as the camp progressed, the children were eager to attend the camp. Some of the parents even noted that after the camp, the children were be observed to be interacting more with others. This encouragement is what keeps Insight going and guides us to go ahead and realize our ideals.

Insight centre for the visually challenged is now open on Sundays also. The first such class was held on 22 May 2011 at the centre. The Sunday classes are being conducted only for visually challenged school teachers. Insight took this move considering the long-standing request of the teachers for weekend classes. They have been unable to avail the facilities at the centre on weekdays owing to the large group of students attending the regular sessions.

The habitually serene Insight centre for special children was bustling with life in the last week of April, between 25^th and 30^th of the month, to be precise. No nook and corner of the centre was spared of the ring of amusement of 17 children who participated in the summer day camp titled Summer Magic, conducted by Insight. The MAGIC held exclusively for children with special needs offered diverse interactive, educative and creative sessions comprising Music, Arts, Games/Gardening, ICT and other Creative activities.

The Magic began with a stimulating ice-breaking session by noted motivational speaker Brahma Nayakam. The heady start gave the much needed momentum to the event. From day two, the camp activities began with yoga, tailored to meet the needs of special children. Gardening and computer sessions followed yoga. In the arts and crafts session, the camp presented activities like painting, collage and paper crafts on different days. Children had great fun working with myriad colours and the joy of creating could be seen on their honest faces. They also made Thank You cards, which were presented to their parents on the closing day of the camp. There was music to help children relax amidst the disquiet. Popular English and Malayalam rhymes were played and animated videos accompanied the music. Children were encouraged to sing along and enact the lines. A professional keyboard player played music when it was the turn of the tiny tots to sing. A folk artist delighted the children with ‘naadan paattukal’ (folk songs) inherent to Kerala. With him, they sang, danced and made merry to the beats of his drum. The high spot of the camp was a puppetry session handled by Mr. Subin, a teacher, for whom puppetry is a passion. The puppets told them numerous tales and children happily chattered with their new friends. They also learnt the art of making puppets out of common objects like plastic bottles. The children heard more stories during the story telling sessions, which were innovative with the use of digital slides. Children were provided with worksheets based on the stories after each story telling. They were given prizes everyday to encourage them to get involved. The camp came to a close with a counselling session for parents on 30^th April. On the day, children put on a show for the parents with the songs they learnt at the camp. Consolation prizes were given to all the camp participants.

The motto of Summer Magic was to help children learn social skills and develop their communicative ability. Insight aimed at helping children shed their inhibitions and let them free to express themselves, which is one of the basic human needs. The camp intended to help children make friends and encourage them to express in distinct ways. We had prepared a detailed vocabulary list for each activity, based on which words were introduced to them during the sessions. The camp further nourished the creative sense in children, encouraging them to adopt alternative ways to communicate and express. Summer Magic, though an attempt as far as Insight is concerned, turned out to be a rewarding one for all who were a part of it.