Winners of 10th International Abilympics share their success stories: ‘People with disability should not be considered weak’

Priyanka Dabade from Pune also won the Medal for Excellence apart from a Silver Medal at the 10th International Abilympics for her exceptional talent

Build more training institutions and education centres to assimilate PwD into the society

Talking about her childhood, Dabade shared that she was often teased and sidelined in school owing to her disability; and things only worsened when she was in the 10th grade after her father – the sole breadwinner of the family — passed away. “To make ends meet, my mother started working at the zila parishad office and I work as a craft teacher in a small private school with negligible salary,” shared Dabade who, like other participants, first won at regional, state and national levels before participating at the International Abilympics. 

Further highlighting the need to make spaces more inclusive and differently-abed friendly, she shared that workplaces equipped with special workstation areas, infrastructural facilities with signages display, grab bars and rails on moving ways, etc, can help PwDs live a life with dignity and achieve their goals. “I would strive to make myself self-sufficient and financially strong so as to assist fellow disabled people around me in society,” said Dabade.

Bronze Medalist Md. Shamim Alam from Gaya has locomotor disability and represented India in Skill Category – Tailoring.

Avinash K S, 23, who won a bronze medal in the skill category- Jewellery making, has been training for the same for three years. He was enrolled in JSS Polytechnic for the Differently Abled by his parents where he received training in designing, fabrication, stone setting, and finishing techniques, among other things. Avinash credits his training at the JSS Polytechnic and Sarthak Educational Trust for his win, underscoring the importance of having more training centres for Persons with Disabilities to be able to receive proper training and excel in the field of their choice.

Gold medalist Chetan Pashilkar from Mumbai, Maharashtra who is Hearing Impaired. and represented India in Skill Category – Painting and Decoration standing next to his winning painting.

“Including individuals with disabilities in everyday activities and ensuring they have access to resources and opportunities in a way similar to non-disabled people will help them excel in life. Providing vocational training and creating employment opportunities will improve the quality of life for people with disabilities,” Avinash said.

Mohammad Shamim Alam, 22, from Gaya, who won a bronze medal in tailoring, agreed with Avinash and said that people with disability should not be considered weak. Similarly, Mohith Majety, 24, from Vijayawada, attributes winning bronze in outdoor photography to the training that he received. “Building up skills development centres, specially designed for disabled people, will make them grow,” he asserted.

Silver Medalist Kashif Khan from Mumbai (Maharashtra) represented India in the Skill Category – Patisserie and Confectionery

Need for early intervention and training

For PwDs to live a life of dignity, it is important to provide them with proper education and tools while they are growing up so that they are not left behind, said Dr Jitender Aggarwal, Secretary General National Abilympic Association of India (NAAI) and Founder, Sarthak Educational Trust. “There is a need for an Early Intervention Centre to boost primary healthcare in all districts to minimise the roadblocks due to disability. Schools need to be inclusive and there is a requirement for well-trained staff with assistive devices, more special educators and more. Apart from properly equipped educational institutions, training centres for different vocations is also essential. We also require structured skill development by opening well-equipped training and vocational centres across the country, especially in rural India,” he said

Dr Aggarwal also stated that the private sector should be incentivised to hire people with disabilities “thus enabling more employment” opportunities for them. “There is a need for an awareness campaign to make public spaces more accessible and inclusive for people with disabilities,” he said.

Other winners included Chetan Pashilkar (who has a hearing impairment) from Mumbai, Maharashtra, who won a gold medal, for his work exploring the theme “Sustainable development using technology” in his painting in the Skill Category – Painting ‘Waste Reuse’; Kashif Khan from Mumbai (Maharashtra) who represented India in the Skill Category – Patisserie and Confectionery, who won the silver medal; the Bronze medal winners were Mohith Majety from Vijayawada, Andhra Pradesh, who has Locomotor Disability and represented India in the Skill Category – Photography, Avinash KS;  and Md Shamim Alam from Gaya, Bihar, who has Locomotor disability and represented India in the Skill Category – Tailoring. 

The boot camps and training sessions were conducted across the country. Painting and embroidery training was conducted at Lady Irwin College, tailoring and dressmaking were held at ATDC, Gurugram, Poster Designing at SGT University, Gurugram, Bakery at St Regis Hotel, Mumbai, Restaurant Service in Efcee Sarovar, Bhavnagar, among others.

Concluding, Dr Aggarwal shared that he launched the Sarthak Educational Trust after he started losing his vision due to macular degeneration —  a condition that can result in fluid and blood accumulation in the central retina — in 2004. “All of a sudden, my career and life came to a halt. But instead of letting it affect me, it gave me a purpose, and I created a space where persons with disabilities are able to receive the training they require to excel in life. I embarked on a new journey to help persons with disabilities. My vision was diminishing, but I kept on believing that it is a challenge that will only strengthen me,” Dr Aggarwal told indianexpress.com.

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