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Supem uyana or ‘Garden of Love’ is a residential, family styled cottage homes for both mentally challenged children and young adults. Located 3 hours South of the Capitol Colombo in Gonapinuwala, Hikkaduwa, Supem Uyana currently houses over 65 children and young adults. Established in 1964, Supem Uyana accepts educable mentally challenged children from all races, religions and economic background. Children are admitted at an early age of 04 and boys are allowed to stay until 14 and girls until 21 years of age.
The center is established under the premise of remediation. Children attend school, where a carefully designed curricular is taught with specially trained staff.
The tailor-made curricular weaves in where appropriate, subjects like math, language and health and social skills. The children are trained in various handicrafts like designing and making greeting cards, making house decorations to gardening and carpentry for boys. Each cottage operates as a family unit of about 10 each of girls and boys with two "aunties" and a Sister. There are four such cottages in Supem Uyana. The bigger girls live in a separate cottage and are encouraged to help the staff with housekeeping chores.
Supem Uyana supports the development of the various talents of the mentally challenged children that are there. Every year it holds a Sport meet, a concert and an exhibition and sale of their handwork. Special attention is given to offer plenty of opportunity for these young children to express themselves through art, dance and music.
In addition every year Supem Uyana runs a training course for teachers of the mentally challenged. It also focuses on educating the parents, siblings and friends of the mentally challenged.
The latest addition to the Supem Uyana group of cottages is one for the mentally challenged of the immediate locality, that is, Hikkaduwa, Galle run on a day care basis. Children as young as 3 years are brought here on a daily basis. The cottage caters to about thirty kids daily. Meals, recreation and medical facilities are provided to them in addition to the educational services granted to the other residential children.
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