‘The children were eating off the floor’
Reporter: by KAREN DOHERTY
Date published: 11 June 2009
Paul is shocked by conditions in Indian school
PAUL Murphy was shocked at the conditions he found when he did voluntary work at a school for disabled children in India.
The 37-year-old chef spent three months at Ashirwaad Special School in Coimbatore, which caters for 50 children and adults aged from five to 35.
He was so moved by what he found in southern India that he is now planning to return in November for a six-month stay.
And he has also organised a charity event on Saturday to raise money for a second school which is being built around 30km away.
Paul, of Hollinwood Avenue, enjoys travelling and heard about Ashirwaad from a friend in Australia.
The grandson of former Manchester United and Wales manager Jimmy Murphy, he said: “When I got there I was shocked to see how it was. I nearly came home the first week.
“The school was like a garage. There were rats on the floor and the kids used to eat off the floor.”
But he fell in love with the children and said: “Even though I can’t speak Tamil and they can’t speak English, we managed to communicate.
“It was my birthday the week before I left. The children come to school with no shoes on and they all bought me a little cake. That ripped the heart out of my chest.
“It was a great experience and I can’t wait to go back. It was such an amazing place and the people are lovely.”
The aim of the school is to help the development of children and adults who have a range of disabilities such as cerebral palsy and downs syndrome. The teachers include a disabled woman who was found begging on the streets while a physiotherapist gives his time for free.
However, it receives no Government funding and relies on money from local people to ensure its vital work continues.
Its founder is now building a residential school in the countryside which it is hoped will include play areas, gardens and physiotherapy spas.
Paul, who works at the Bolt and Horses, Broadway, took out £250 on his last visit to build partitions at Ashirwaad to create separate classrooms.
Saturday’s event at the Bower Hotel, Hollinwood Avenue, starts at 7.30pm and features the Irish band the Leg Platters and a disco until late. Tickets cost £10 and are available from Paul on 07950-989543.
He added: “We are hoping to raise as much as we can, even if we only raise a couple of hundred pounds to see the roof finished or get the beds in.”
