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•An anchor who was diagnosed with an imperfect speech
Many -a-times Rohit has led the Special Olympics Athlete oath, he has anchored events to a great big audience without even a hint of nervousness. Rohit Raina is 22 years old and is an Athlete from the Delhi, always cheerful and carrying a passion for sports, especially Cricket. He has a learning disability, that began to show, as his growth graph slowed down.
•Playing To Unify
Honey Singh is a fun-loving Athlete from Bareilly, UP. He is often seen wearing sun-glasses and dancing, to mimic the star who has the same name. He stands in stark contrast to his aunt, both of whom have Down Syndrome. While his aunt was kept back, isolated from the rest of the world, Honey continued to go out, move in the society, play sports. His aunt often was called names and was avoided by family and neighbours.
•Football and Friendship
Champa would never have got an opportunity to travel overseas. She says that it is Amisha who has given wings to her passion. Football has exposed her to an intellectual disability but it is something that doesn’t have to be spelt categorically. They practice, play, discuss, learn & have fun together. Amisha is a person with Multiple Disability while Champa, her Unified Partner is a keen footballer and a child of a laborer
•Viewing the world through the eyes of our children
Bryne and Janice Rodrigues are parents of Joanne (14 yrs) and Brydan (12 yrs), both on the Autism Spectrum.Being also the lifeline of the monthly Family Cafes, the Rodrigues family, as they sign themselves, churn out one ice-breaker after the other that has been instrumental in bringing the group together through joy & laughter.
However, their experiences have not always been ‘joyful’. They went through the shock of a diagnosis not once but twice. They fought through stray and hurtful comments from people who hastily categorised their children as a ‘liability’
•Shubh’s participation in the National Health Fest
When Ashaben Natwarbai Patel lost her husband to Covid 19, last year, she turned to Shubh , her son, for consolation and support. Shubh by then had been trained to run their shop named after him – ‘Shubh Electricals’ located in Gandhinagar, Gujarat.
Shubh 24yrs now, was born without a forehead. He was born with Apert syndrome, which is a genetic disorder characterized by skeletal abnormalities.
•A Cafe with a Special Aroma
Born with the condition , she also had a few medical complications early in life and had to undergo corrective surgeries. This trail caused delays in her development that left her parents to explore furiously ways of re – planning their lives while also discovering avenues that would help Himanshi accomplish her best.
•Establishing an Identity despite Challenges
Vibhu Aggarwal, now 18 yrs, who left his parents speechless through his diagnosis, now holds a pride of place in his family. He is a person with Down Syndrome, born without a palm in the left hand. He hails from Raigarh Chattisgarh.
When Vibhu was approx. a year old, he was diagnosed with Down’s Syndrome, with the doctor clearly telling his family that he will not be able to lead a normal life. Shocked by the verdict and unsupported by a city that had no special schools pushed his parents to the corner.
•Building Abilities Through Sports
Hamza Kachwala, 22yrs, feels happy as he walks into his workplace which is the State Bank of India, Mumbai.
He received his training from the SPJ Sadhna Special School that cocooned him right since his early years. Hamza was diagnosed with mild Autism at the age of 4. His parents approached the doctor when they observed that he rarely spoke and when he did, it was words and not sentences. He was introduced to Special Olympics at his school.
•Carving a character through Sports
It was when Deepanshu was 6-7 years of age, he would often climb the boundary wall and walk on its narrow width, balancing himself. With several concurring activities, Deepanshu has his attention fixed on his practices for the World Games. His dream is to be able to have a Skating (including Figure Skating ) stadium close to his home . Deepanshu’s father is a carpenter and his mother is a home maker.
•An ability rather than a Disability
Priyanka 20 yrs old, was born into an atmosphere of conflict and strain, as recalled by her mother, Anurita Dewan. She observed that although Priyanka was born fine, she often turned blue when she cried. Her delayed milestones, unclear speech left no doubt that she would require special care. Priyanka never saw her father as he was unhappy to have a girl child. He left them when she was a month old. Her parents got divorced
•Rolling Over The Odds
When he was born, there was nothing about him that told his parents about any challenges. As he grew the fact that he never spoke, and more of such delayed milestones drew attention of his parents to a possible anomaly, on which they were proved right. While they went ahead with getting him to join a mainstream school, the teachers once again confirmed that he is unable to cope with studies as is ‘normal’. Tanshu too used to cry bitterly on his way to school. Nothing seemed right
•Fostering friendship & bonding beyond the Sports field
“I remember seeing ‘Kaif Bhaiya’ in the lift at the National Youth Summit held in 2019 in the Amity University UP Campus. Later I saw him leading a session at the Summit, we also played volleyball together”.- Shivam Verma, Athlete leader from New Delhi. “A friendship between two people is very natural. I began with an understanding that I will be Shivam’s support and the ‘guiding light’ so to say. But it turns out, he has been my pillar of support.”- Mohammad Kaif, Unified Buddy of Shivam
•Would Simran help us break mind-sets
When you meet Simran, the greatest memory that you carry back is her heart warming smile. The power of her smile successfully conceals the countless moments and instances that left her feeling isolated and bullied. When she was an infant the unbearable pain was felt by her mother, which was later shared by Simran as she grew
