Achievements:

Carmel Jyothi has numerous accolades to its credit including awards such as the Special needs school using Most Innovative Teaching Methods and providing medal winners at national level sports competitions!

As well as the school, the nuns help organise several cottage industries to help fund the school. These include growing and selling fruits, vegetables and flowers, making Holy Communion wafers for the churches and making paper bags.

Volunteer Positions:

Due to the specialist nature of the school volunteers are required have some experience in teaching/supervision of special needs children and or psychotherapy / physiotherapy.

The pupils have limited lesson structure as there is a high pupil to teacher ratio. With this in mind volunteers may be expected to join in classes as support but graduate to teaching a small class on their own. However due to the lack of syllabus the volunteer has almost a free reign as to what to teach! The school users (amongst other things) are taught basics of how to look after themselves, dance, basic language including English alphabets and numbers, art, yoga and sports - a favorite of which is cricket.

Classes are loosely organized into ability, as disabilities range from conditions such as ADHD, deaf and dumb to severe Down’s and Fragile X syndromes and MS.

At certain points throughout the day there will be opportunities where you can have one-to-ones with the children. There has also been a recent addition of a "sensory tent" by Abigail - a previous Yearoutindia volunteer, to increase stimulus especially for those that are sensory impaired.

Limited English and the Keralan language of Malayalam (with which YOI can help you to learn the basics) are spoken in the school.