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In 1985, two families joined hands to establish MENTAID, (The Association for the Development of the Mentally Handicapped) as a support group to parents with mentally challenged children. MENTAID is a non-profit, educational, training, vocational, and cultural institution for the development of mentally handicapped children and adults. It was the first of its type in West Bengal, exclusively organized by parents of the mentally handicapped. This South Kolkata located NGO aims to integrate its members in mainstream life through improved education and training.

MENTAID provides mainly three kinds of services:

• Special School for the Mentally Challenged: The school operates from the Brojen Mukherjee Road premises, Kolkata with over 60 students, where students are assessed, followed by parent-to-parent counselling. It also helps students to build their self-confidence and solve their issues. Various trainings are also provided to children above 13 years like yoga, basic computers, personality development, & other co-curricular activities like music, dance, acting and art.
• Vocational Training Centre: MENTAID provides vocational training to disabled children who are 18 years old in areas like handicraft, printing, catering, computers, household products, tea packaging, to improve their quality of living.
• Other Activities: It includes organizing workshops, seminars, exhibitions, leisure clubs, self-advocacy, scholarships, staff development, networking and fund raising.

The MENTAID student body has about half its students from economically backward families. The NGO plans to construct a Purpose Built Centre on the fringes of the rural 24 Parganas area which will enable it to increase its reach. The objective is to provide counselling, development and training services to a larger rural community which has limited or no access to these services.