Helper of the handicapped

"I would like to dedicate this award to my students… I think of my students as precious diamonds. A diamond, in its natural form, is dull and rough, and looks like any ordinary stone. After it is shaped and polished, it sparkles as the brightest and most precious gem! Similarly, our students come to us with their inborn skills hidden under layers of problematic behavior. After our teachers polish their talents and their skills, each child shines out as a productive individual.” These words from the heart were uttered by 73-year-old Roshan Sarosh Master while receiving the Late Shri B. J. Modi Foundation Award for 2008 from the National Society for Equal Opportunities for the Handicapped, India (NASEOH) at its Chembur campus on December 9, 2008, in recognition of her outstanding and selfless contribution as a voluntary worker in the field of mental retardation, reveals an e-mail received by Parsiana from Dr Katayun K. Palia.

Master overcame her own disability and utilized her talents to help other disabled persons. Being visually impaired at a very early age, with almost no vision from age nine to 23 years, she underwent cornea grafts in both eyes. Because of this she was unable to pursue higher education so she opted for a diploma in special teaching of mentally retarded children from the Society For The Care, Treatment And Training Of Children In Need of Special Care, in 1961.

That same year Master joined the Jai Vakeel School for Children in Need of Special Care, as a special educator and, but for a short break for the birth of her child, continued to serve there till she retired in 1993. Post retirement, she continues working at the Jai Vakeel School to this day as an honorary special educator, the e-mail reveals. Master has thus been actively involved with the cause of the mentally handicapped for a record 40+ years.

Roshan Master: attuned to the disabled

Handling students at all levels of mental retardation, severe to borderline, with behavior problems and multiple disabilities, Master has helped train them to become useful members of society. She was awarded the Herodiana Prize for the Most Creative and Innovative Teacher in Arts and Craft at an inter-school competition in 1986 and has supervised the training of children for the Mini-Olympics as well as for the Special Olympics in the USA.

Master has participated in several national-level scientific workshops and symposia on mental retardation. She has also helped substantially in fund-raising activities for the school. She initiated a series of discussions with Dr Mehroo Bengalee (former vice-chancellor, University of Bombay), in 1988, for starting a BEd course in Special Education (Mental Retardation) at the College of Special Education attached to the Jai Vakeel School, the e-mail lists.

Among her most recent activities is involvement in the initial stages of setting up a group called Ahura Support for Special Children in an advisory capacity and as a volunteer. Ahura Support was formed about two years ago by a group of deeply committed individuals in Rustom Baug, including parents of special children, to facilitate activities for such children and to provide support for their parents. Their activities include talks, counseling sessions, parties and outings for the children, a fund-raising show, etc. Currently the group is planning to set up a park designed for children with special needs, the first of its kind in Bombay, the e-mail reveals. Individuals interested in helping the Ahura Support Group may contact Cyrus Bugwadia on 9821089166 and Kumi Daroowalla on 23724492.

Having experienced visual disability herself, Master has been campaigning for the cause of eye donation and has given talks on this subject in order to raise awareness.