New Delhi World Book Fair 2023: Dr. Neena Rao Highlights the need for special education through her book “Mindscapes: Canvas of Emotions in a Special World”
New Delhi : Margika Foundation, a Hyderabad and US-based NGO, showcases the coffee table book ‘Mindscapes: A Canvas of Emotions in a Special World!’ at the ongoing New Delhi World Book Fair. The book delineates the special talents and honest, straight-from-the-heart stories of kids and young adults with special needs.
With a foreword by His Holiness the Dalai Lama, ‘Mindscapes: A Canvas of Emotions in a Special World!’ has been inspired by Meraki, a virtual talent show established during the pandemic by Margika’s founder Neena Rao to help Special Needs children from all over the world.
The book features a treasure of art pieces and other talents by children with special needs and the world will get to hear these stories in their voices. Along with every art piece, there are verses regarding the child’s feelings about the work they have created or how they feel about that particular talent. The majority of these children are from rural government schools and thus, belong to the most socially and economically disadvantaged group of society.
Art and creativity are the best mediums to voice and reach the innermost recesses of one’s mind and heart. They are also the finest means to help reduce anxiety and stress in children as well as adults. The book is a sincere expression of the ideas of these special children and is a treasure house of poems, paintings, essays, sketches, and stories.
The aim of the beautifully-illustrated book is the same as Margika’s — to not only rise and meet the Special kids’ esteem and self-actualization needs and provide them with a sense of love, safety, and belonging, but also to empathize, raise awareness about, and destigmatize the special needs children.
“I didn’t want any other child to suffer like my son. We need an inclusive society. Children with special needs deserve to lead happy and normal lives. I started Margika to make a difference to the children and their families”. Says Dr. Neena Rao.
“Our objective is to offer help, guidance, and encouragement to individuals with special needs in the long run, adding more meaning to the cause that Margika believes in,” she further adds.
Margika was founded by Dr. Neena Rao, a mother of a boy with Aspergers (a developmental disorder affecting the ability to effectively socialise and communicate). He inspired her to give up her career as an academic and development professional to create Margika – a Network for Training & Capacity Building for Better Care of Children with Special Needs.