Help for differently-abled children in India!

Muskan Viklang Trust (MVT) (Hindi: “Let the disabled smile”) is the name and intention of our project. The MVT tries to help the gigantic number of people suffering from deprivations, which are living in Bihar, the poorest and most underdeveloped district of India.

Our aim is to give efficient aid to primarily differently-abled children (but also to adults). This is through many different means in order to offer the best possible support. Our caseload consists mainly of children with cerebral palsy (brain damage) and polio. Polio unfortunately is still a common disease in this particular area of India secondary to an insufficient level of vaccination. We also focus treatment on other neurological diseases such as post meningitis, muscular dystrophy and stroke patients.

Our therapy methods consist of Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy, Acupuncture/Acupressure, Homeopathy, Serial casting, and implementation of Walking aids.

It is important to provide assistance on the spot. The employees of the MVT can give treatments to up to 50-100 patients a day. We have a total of eleven employees at present which therefore enables roughly 500 patients to be treated regularly. So far, more than 4000 patients have been treated and rehabilitated through short or long term means.

The monthly charges amount up to approximately 1200 Euro.

In May 2004, the MVT was founded in Bodhgaya by Heiner Janssen, a German Physiotherapist/ Naturopath and Rakesh Kumar Roy from India. Heiner Janssen functions as a director; Rakesh Kumar Roy is the chairman and represents him in his absence.

Bodhgaya is a significant place for Buddhist pilgrims. It is the place where Buddha once attained his enlightenment underneath the Bodhi tree. The MVT is acknowledged and registered by the Indian government as a Charitable Trust.