World Cerebral Palsy Day @ B J Wadia Hospital on 06 Oct 2021

World Cerebral Palsy Day @ B J Wadia Hospital on 06 Oct 2021 On the eve of “World Cerebral Palsy Day”, 06 Oct 2021, We were invited to deliver a Motivational Lecture, at B.J.Wadia Hospital, Parel. This event was organized in collaboration with Lions Club of Juhu. “Disability to Ability” was the topic of my deliberation. The Doctors, NGOs , Parents of differently abled children and other Institutions engaged in welfare activities for differently abled children were part of this event. Parents were happy and carried a strong positive feeling that their child will also do well in life, like any normal children.

WE HAVE POTENTIALS TOO...

 

Our Salute to Dr. Satendra Singh

This acclaimed doctor contracted Polio when he was just nine months old. He is also a prominent disability activist and works extensively to make public places more accessible to persons with disabilities. His efforts made ATMs disabled-friendly by constructing ramps. Similar initiatives were taken for the post  office, medical institutes, polling booths, etc. He is also the founder of Infinite Ability – a medical humanities group on disability.

May God bless with long life sir.

Rising above disability: Mohammed Gaddafi

Mohammed Gaddafi Startup: Maa Ulaa With an aim to support himself and help others like him, Mohammed Gaddafi, who lost his legs at the age of 19, along with his friend Balaji, started Maa Ulaa in Chennai. The startup is India’s first bike taxi service run by the differently abled. Recalling how he got the idea, Mohammed said, “I saw a differently abled person on his tricycle at Marina Beach one evening. He parked in a corner and started begging. I was shocked, but when I spoke to him, he asked, ‘How can we lead better lives just because the government has provided bikes?’" Mohammed, who has a PhD in history, has been a professor at Presidency College and has worked at two private firms.

Rising above disability:

Sharath M Gayakwad Startup: Gamatics Born with a deformed left hand, Sharath M Gayakwad is a Paralympic swimmer who holds the record for the maximum number of medals by an Indian at any multi-discipline event at the 2014 Asian Games. In November 2014, Sharath, along with Shantala Bhat, Santosh Patil, and Margaret John Christopher, started up Gamatics in Bengaluru. The online venture focuses on fulfilling the basic requirements of swimmers by providing a marketplace to order high-performance practice gear and equipment. The platform also lists nutritionists and physiotherapists, aiming to bring the community together by sharing ideas and recognising talent across India to bring out the best in them. The startup was incubated at NSRCEL, IIM Bangalore’s startup incubator, in February 2015.

Success story of physically challenged Chess champion

Success story of physically challenged Chess champion

Her world has revolved around the black and white squares, for more than a decade now. For 23-year-old Jennitha Anto crossing hurdles in life is similar to making her way across the chess board — one square at a time.
This physically-challenged girl from Tiruchi, dreams of being a grandmaster some day and a chartered accountant. She has distinguished herself by earning the FIDE Women Candidate Master title with her performance in the recently concluded 39th World Chess Olympiad at the Russian town of Khanty-Mansiysk.
Jennitha bagged the silver medal in the women’s section at the eighth IPCA (International Physically disabled Chess Association) World Chess Championship in Wisla, Poland. In a tournament that had 70 physically challenged players participating including a number of International Masters, she managed to hold her own.
She was the only non-Russian invited to represent the women’s IPCA team at the 38th World Chess Olympiad in 2008, where she exhibited her prowess winning seven games in a row (against players in the general category), including one against a Woman International Master (WIM).
She stands testimony to the triumph of mind over matter. For the girl struck by polio at three, disability has never been a handicap in courting success. “It’s all in the mind,” she says. Uncomplaining and contented, her soft-spoken veneer conceals an invincible will power.
Notable is her father, G. Kanickai Irudayaraj’s contribution to her success in the sport. Her first coach and constant companion, he introduced Jennitha to the world of pawns, knights and queens.
“I happened to read the Will of Steel which records accomplishments of the differently abled in sports. It led me to believe Jennitha too can do it. I told her I would teach her a sport,” recalls the father, a retired school teacher. “She was reluctant and reminded me she could not run, let alone walk. But she was excited, when I told her she could play chess.” And that was how Jennitha got her first tutorial in chess. She soon discovered her talent when she won her first tournament at the district-level in 1996.
“During my first tournament, I was trembling all over; I was worried that so many people were watching me and I wondered what they thought, seeing me in a wheelchair. But after winning the tournament, I was all confidence,” she says with a bright smile.
And she did not stop there. She went on conquering opponents in a battle of brains. Jennitha was district champion under different age categories six times in a row. Her highest ranking in an open tournament at the State level was No. 5 while she was ranked 16th in the country in the under-15 category and competed in international tournaments to become a rated player by 2002.
Though she took a break to concentrate on her Board exams, Jennitha returned to her first love — chess — while doing a degree in Commerce through correspondence.
Lack of infrastructure or special arrangements have never been impediments in her way forward. But the only disadvantage she points out is missing chances to watch the games of other players during tournaments. “Apart from giving you a break, it can largely improve your game. I feel I have missed those opportunities,” she rues.
Coached by International Master and Olympic team captain, Raju Ravi Sekhar, Jennitha says he shaped not only her technique but also her temperament. Something that she has imbibed from her idol Viswanathan Anand.
The computer has been an asset for Jennitha to improve her game through online coaching and long hours of practice. The biggest obstacle that stands between Jennitha and her ‘Grand’ dream is the lack of funds.
“Jennitha is about to start coaching under a Grandmaster which requires Rs. 1,000 per hour. Besides, her travel expenses are more because she needs to be accompanied,” says her father.
Both father and daughter are thankful to private organisations and the Tiruchi District, State, All India Chess Associations and the State Government who have made the journey so far possible.
Jennitha’s hero, Bobby Fischer once remarked, “You have to have the fighting spirit. You have to force moves and take chances.” Jennitha has that and more. The sunniest of optimists, she also believes in miracles. Her life may be chequered but she has never been check-mated.
http://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-features/tp-metroplus/article873155.ece

Bhavna becomes World’s first graduate using ‘eye – pointing’ system

Bhavna becomes World’s first graduate using ‘eye – pointing’ system

The first thing that strikes you when you meet Bhavna Botta is how full of smiles she is. Not surprisingly, she was voted Miss Smiley — and Miss Final Year — at her B.A. Corporate Secretaryship department farewell party in Ethiraj College this year.

It has been a remarkable journey. Bhavna was born with Athetoid Cerebral Palsy, which means she is unable to walk, write by hand, or communicate verbally. Yet, she has defied all odds to complete her Class XII exams from a mainstream institution, Lady Andal Venkatasubba Rao Matriculation Higher Secondary School, and now her Bachelor’s degree from Ethiraj, all using a unique system of communication by ‘eye-pointing’.

“She is definitely the first person in India — and possibly in the world — to have finished a college degree using the eye-pointing system,” says Kalpana, her mother. With this system, Bhavana communicates — and writes her exams — using a chart of alphabets in numbered columns, spelling out what she wants to say by pointing at the columns with her eyes. The chart was developed specially for her at Vidyasagar (a voluntary organisation that works with children and young adults with cerebral palsy and other neurological disabilities), where she studied until Class X. That’s what she uses during this interview as well, spelling out her answers so rapidly at times that Kalpana can’t keep up.

Foremost on her mind is her emotional parting with M. Thavamani, her principal at Ethiraj College who retired recently, and whom she went to college to say goodbye to. “It was a very unique feeling,” says Bhavna, “something I’ve never experienced before.”

Thavamani describes the meeting in touchingly similar terms: “It was a very emotional moment for both of us; I can’t begin to express the kind of affection Bhavna’s shown me, the department and her classmates.”

She adds: “When I first met the child, I did wonder if she would be able to manage. But today I can say that having been Bhavna’s teacher — I taught her accountancy in her first year — is something I’m truly proud of in my career of 35 years.”

Like any youngster, Bhavna’s fondest memories of her three years in college are of the friendships she formed and of all the fun she’s had. The word she spells out most often is ‘fun’, amidst plenty of laughter, as her mother talks about her adventures in learning to wear a sari and her insistence on going to the beach even though the salt water plays havoc with her wheelchair.

Is she signing up for a postgraduate degree? Her family is trying to convince her to do so. But her mind’s made up and it has been since she was in Class VIII — Bhavna plans to start her own business. “She’s geared all her decisions towards this, whether it was taking accountancy in Class XI or choosing Entrepreneurial Development as her elective in college,” says Meenakshi Subramanian, member of Vidyasagar’s Disability Legislation Unit (DLU), and Bhavna’s close friend and scribe.

She’s already decided on the sort of business she’s like to do — a socially responsible venture selling organic cotton and ahimsa silk saris and dress materials — and she has friends and family collecting information for her on different aspects.

But when Kalpana talks about family funding the venture, Bhavna protests vehemently — she’s determined to start her business with a loan from the National Handicapped Finance and Development Corporation (NHFDC) instead. Her answer to my question “Why business?” was simply to spell out “independence”.

“What’s the next step?” earns a similarly simple response: “Launching the business.” With this plucky young woman’s track record, you’ve got to believe it will happen, sooner rather than later.