ARIVU Trust® was established for creating awareness in the community at large and specifically among parents of special children with disabilities, and to provide early intervention and quality support services for such children to enable them to be a part of an inclusive society.
“ARIVU” means “Awareness” in Kannada. The Mission is to undertake Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) as defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) which focuses on enhancing the quality of life for people with disabilities and their families; meeting basic needs; and ensuring inclusion and participation.
It is a multi-sectoral strategy that empowers persons with disabilities to access and benefit from education, employment, health and social services. CBR is implemented through the combined efforts of people with disabilities, their families and communities, and relevant government and non-government health, education, vocational, social and other services.
The Vision of ARIVU Trust® is to “CATCH THEM YOUNG, EMPOWER THE CHILDREN AND FAMILIES”. The immediate aim is to strengthen the Government’s effort in starting Early Intervention and Early Childhood Education Program. ARIVU Trust® would like to work with Hospitals, Colleges specializing in Social Work, Women’s organizations, NGO’s and Professionals dealing with rehabilitation.
Mangaluru has an estimated 700 children with learning disabilities in Government schools alone, excluding the Anganawadis and the Private Schools, according to the Block Education Development Officer. As soon as a child’s milestones, like smiling and eye contact is delayed, the disability needs to be diagnosed and the concerned parents must be provided with all the guidance for suitable early intervention and rehabilitation. Even a baby of 6 months can be trained with a home based program.
With proper intervention and training more than 50% of children with disabilities can be sent to normal school. ARIVU program is on the lines of the “Head Start” program for early childhood education in New York State, USA, especially for children with disability and their families.
UDID card and Aadhar cards are compulsory for your child. We help parents in going to right government departments and doing the needful. Government has many schemes for families with lower income. Through parent counseling and education we make sure that you go to the correct department to access benefits for your child.
Dr. K. Sundara Bhat MD.
President
Professor and formerly Head of the Dept. of General Medicine, Father Mueller’s Medical College, Mangaluru. Dr. Bhat has a distinguished career exceeding 30 years and is continuing as a Physician at the Father Mueller’s Hospital, Mangaluru. MBBS and MD from Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Dr. Bhat served in Central Kerala for 6 years before returning to settle in Mangaluru.
CA Ravinarayana B.V. Bhat
Vice-President
Mr. Bhat is a finance professional and Fellow Member of The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He also qualified as Certified Internal Auditor and Certified Information Systems Auditor from USA. He started his professional career as practicing Chartered Accountant at Bangalore. With the six years of practical experience he moved to Bahrain Airport Services, Bahrain. Since last 17 years, he works for Oman Air, national airline of Sultanate of Oman.
Dr. Radhakrishna B. Bhat Ph.D.
Treasurer/Secretary
Ph.D. in Metallurgy from the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai, served as a Scientist at the Defence Metallurgical Research Laboratory, Hyderabad for 17 years. Accepted an invitation to be a Visiting Scientist at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton OH, USA for 5 years. Later became a Senior Scientist at the GE Global Research Center, Albany NY, USA, for 6 years before returning to India for good in 2012 to settle in Mangaluru and to realize the dream of ARIVU.
Ms. Poornima R. Bhat M.S. (Rehabilitation Counselling)
Founder Director
Ms. Poornima R. Bhat, obtained her M.S. in Rehabilitation Counselling from the Wright State University, Dayton, OH USA in 2005. She has been involved with special education ever since her son was born with Down’s Syndrome in 1990. She first started working as a volunteer at the Thakur Hariprasad Institute for the Mentally challenged, Hyderabad, where her son started attending an integrated preschool, followed with a decade of experience in the USA, first as an intern starting in 2001 and later as a professional working at the Center for Disability Services, Albany, NY USA until her return to India in 2010. After that she has been continuing the work independently in Mangaluru, initially as a consultant behavior and speech therapy specialist at the Father Mullers Hospital and later on as the Founder Director of the Arivu Early Intervention Centre for Special Children.
CA B. ARAVINDA KRISHNA
Auditor
CA Aravinda Krishna is a Practising Chartered Accountant. Started his practice in 1994 at Puttur of Dakshina Kannada. A fellow member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, he is also a Diploma holder in Information Systems Audit issued by the ICAI.
Mr. V.S. Basavaraju
Executive Director-Strategy
The Association of People with Disability (APD), Bengaluru
Sr. Maria Jyothi A.C.
Founder Principal
St. Agnes Special School, Mangaluru
Skilled in Behavior therapy and Occupational Therapy
