Tales of Saarthi: Rekha Balgi and Girish Balgi

The second R is his younger sister, Rekha now the primary caregiver…..also a special educator, counselor, founder member of Reachout, author, and more. She is open to learning all the time and feels privileged to make a difference in the lives of many especially the challenged, their families, and senior citizens. A sculpture at Bandra says “A child gives birth to a mother”……which in our case would read as “A sibling also gives birth to a mother”.This is the ultimate connection to a complete life equation for us.

The third R is 23 years old Reachout program at Mumbai which represents a kaleidoscope of events and possibilities to create a better horizon for all with the Integration inclusive camps, parent/professional talks, counseling/guidance, publications for support/empowerment, and more.

“Bloom where you are Planted” is our mantra in this Life by Higher Design.

Cretinism: Congenital hypothyroidism (under activity of the thyroid gland at birth), which results in growth retardation, developmental delay, and other abnormal features. Cretinism can be due to a deficiency of iodine in the mother’s diet during pregnancy. (Source: www.medicine net.com)

#cretinism #siblings

Saarthi: Sibling Support Network India is a community of siblings of children/adults with intellectual & developmental disabilities (IDD) and other disabilities. Siblings can connect with other siblings , voice out their experiences, share their journey and tips that helped them along, seek mental health support , initiate steps towards future planning and get decision making support and also participate in research on sibling studies.