Lebenshilfe

In German, Lebenshilfe means Life Help. At Lebenshilfe India, intellectually impaired children from the poorest segments of society are becoming happy, independent adults through a unique synthesis of special education methods from around the world, specialized training in local folk arts, and a distinctive program using the arts as therapy.

Lebenshilfe India, in Visakhapatnam, Andra Pradesh, takes its name from the original Lebenshilfe in Germany, founded in 1958 by Tom Mutters. After studying Special Education in America, Lebenshilfe India founder late Dr. Saraswathi Devi Tallapragada (Sarah) took intensive training at Lebenshilfe Germany. On her return to India, with support of the original organization, Sarah founded Lebenshilfe India in 1980.

Compare the life of a mentally challenged child growing up in the slums of urban India or in an isolated village to that of a student at Lebenshilfe, who might practice arithmetic and reading in the morning, and pretend to be tiger for the Tiger Dance, play the tabla, or meticulously paint a bright green wooden pepper in the afternoon.

Thanks to late Dr. T. Saraswathi Devi, members of Lebenshilfe India Board, volunteers and 110 teacher/training/aid staff, Lebenshilfe India is providing such opportunities to 350 mentally challenged children in school, of which 100 children stay in the hostel on premise. Miracles happen.