Making a better space for differently abled friends

Sabitha Vishwanathan, Research Scholar, Department of Ecology

Sabitha, a Doctoral scholar from Department of Ecology is a volunteer at HEPSN. She helps the differently abled students by reading books, telling them different news of the world and by writing their exams. She also helps them in using audio based computer typing and uses the same for teaching.

Sabitha did her post graduation course from Kochi University and has seen the pathetic condition of students there. She says, “ People with disability are not incapable. They do have a lot of creativity in them. They are very patient and creative. Helping them makes me feel good. It is like helping for a bigger cause by little effort”.
Being a research scholar it is hard for her to get additional time. But she manages few hours when she is called by the students. She also inspires other students of the campus to join hands and share their time to help the differently abled students of the campus. Sabitha expresses her thoughts, “ Earlier, I was not aware of such things here in Pondicherry University, but when I got into contact with this initiative, I joined myself with the HEPSN. Sometimes additional time is not available but I manage to extent, that I may provide them my help as much as possible. Initially, it was mere a generous help but now it has taken shape of a social cause. We do help them and inspire others to join for the aim”.

Volunteering is at the very core of being a human. No one has, made it through life without someone else’s help. A true volunteer makes a living by what makes others happy and that’s the important part of life, Making a better space for special people to live freely.


“ Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” - Hellen Keller



                              #ComeJoinHands&ShareHappiness.

Harsha : A Volunteer

Harsha Bindun, Research scholar, Department of Ecology

For some people, volunteering is about giving, but for few it is the way of living. They do not necessarily have the time but they just have a kind heart. Harsha, a young scholar of university is another volunteer with HEPSN. She is enrolled in Department of Ecology. Despite being an ecology student, she teaches English literature to the differently abled students at the Centre. She says, “ While studying back in Kerela, I used to work for orphans. Sharing hand for this cause gives me satisfaction, as I am doing something for the people who are not blessed with certain abilities”.

Harsha, however couldn't regularly come to HEPSN due to her academic work but helps the students during exam anytime. During the examination period she invites other PG students too, to help the disabled students. “ They do feel bad, when they can’t perform well because of their inability. They do perceive everything up to their imagination. When we help them it brings smile at their face. They can share their knowledge to which we ink on their answer sheets during the exams. They do possess extraordinary learning desires and are blessed with sharp mind. All what they need is little support.”, Harsha says on what the differently abled students feel.


What everyone wants form life is continuous and genuine happiness. Some get it by getting supported from others while some gets in helping others. The most useful asset of a person is not a head full of knowledge but a heart full of love, with ears open to listen and hands willing to help.

                                               ShareHandShareHapppiness.

Pondicherry University: Leading the people with disability to a better world.

HEPSN, Pondicherry University

HEPSN (Higher Education For People with Special Needs), is a cell instituted by Pondicherry University which works for the equity of access to higher education and opportunities for person with various types of disabilities in university. In pursuance of the mission, the enabling cell is established to consolidate and co-ordinate the renowned legacy of the disabled friendly institution. It is an inclusive institution with accessible infrastructure and equity in higher education for persons’ with disabilities. It aims to mainstream the requirements of disabled persons by providing barrier free access to buildings, equipments, and other resources of the university. It makes efforts to extend facilities to disabled persons to avail the benefits of different streams of higher education. The cell also aims to engender public sensitization about the challenges, issues, capabilities and rights of person with disabilities.

In the year 2011, Pondicherry University was selected as the Best Training Institution in recognition of its contribution to the empowerment of persons with disabilities. The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India selected the university as one among the National Awardees for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities. The university is the first such institution in India to receive such a recognition for its affirmative action on the empowerment of persons with disabilities. Pondicherry University has introduced a number of innovative steps for disabled students which includes Free education as well as and boarding and lodging at the University hostels, disabled friendly campus infrastructure. A special section has been started at the University Library with the state-of-the-art facilities of hardware and software to enable the visually challenged students and faculty to carry out the routine reference works. The University has also constructed a separate library for the visually-challenged students and faculty for the first time in the country.

Preethi- A common girl with special abilities.

She had physical and mental sufferings of her own. But instead of grieving about them, she chose to draw lessons from these and reach out to others with a similar or worse plight. Preethi Srinivasan is a

quadriplegic but that’s not what defines her. She chalks out and realizes plans to help other people with severe disabilities to stand on their own feet with dignity through her organization, Soul free.

Preethi Srinivasan was the captain of the under-19 Tamil Nadu women’s cricket team. She was a champ swimmer. Even after the unfortunate accident that left her quadriplegic, she continues to have all the virtues of a champion sportsperson. Today, she champions the cause of others in need. Post the accident that has left her paralyzed below the neck, her life is harder but has found a new meaning that she enthusiastically embraces. 

Her accident altered her course of life. Physically, mentally and emotionally. An easier choice might have been to succumb to life’s and society’s unfairness, sit back home and lament the twist of fate. But what emerged eventually out of all the struggles was a new messiah and leader for people. Physically, she might be confined to a wheel chair but she weaves plans of freedom for others like her through her organization Soul free. Soul free is a Tamil Nadu based small, public charitable trust that Preethi has started to provide women with severe disabilities to assist them in fulfilling their highest human potential by providing a basic quality of life.
Could you expect a girl in India to be so much into cricket right from the age of 4 years? You might, if you are talking about Preethi Srinivasan. The most devoted fan of the legendary West Indies cricketer, Sir Isaac Vivian Alexander Richards, Preethi was the youngest at just 8 years old to play for the Tamil Nadu Women’s Cricket Team. She also captained the U-19 TN Cricket team to its only victory in 1997. That aside, she was also a champion swimmer. She stood first in the state in the 50m breaststroke and came second in all the other swimming events.

And then came the ill-fated incident on 11th July, 1998 that could possibly shock any body’s imagination. Preethi was 18 at that time. She had had a wonderful college trip to Pondicherry and was returning to Chennai, when they stopped by to spend some time at a private beach owned by a classmate’s father. Soon, they went to the shores and with the other girls, she started to jump on the waves in thigh deep water while the boys swam and played in the deeper portions. Suddenly a receding wave churned up the sand from under her feet, tripping her up. She stumbled a bit and dived face forward into the water. However, as fate would have it, the moment her face went underwater she felt a shock like sensation travel through her body. That’s it – no impact , not a drop of blood, just a split-second of misfortune. She didn't felt pain or lost consciousness, and there was absolutely nothing dramatic. As soon as she felt the shock travel through her body, she couldn't move. She tried to get back out of the water, and nothing happened, so she held her breath until her friends pulled her out.

She was taken to the JIPMER Hospital in Pondicherry in an ambulance. There she was made to wear a spondylitis collar, without proper diagnosis and sent to Chennai for a thorough check up after labeling it as a case of “accident”. It took four crucial hours to reach Chennai for proper treatment, where she was diagnosed not with spondylitis but a severe case of paralysis. Preethi still wonders if those four hours of misdiagnosed medical care would have made all the difference in her condition today.

For an athlete and a young person, dealing with such a life-changing accident can be a calamity, and requires super-human strength to carry on. For the first 18 years of her life she had effortlessly excelled in every area of her life, and the future seemed to be brimming with infinite potential. Then, in a split-second, it was all over and she found herself having to come to terms with life in a wheelchair. She reached a stage where she could not even move her little finger no matter how hard she tried.

A disability is not just a mere robbing of the physical vital functions of body parts, although that is painful enough, but for most it also brings with it the loss of a sense of dignity and self-worth, and a feeling of becoming secluded from the world. For Soul free, hence an important agenda is to build or retain the self-esteem in the victims of severe disability by helping them identify their own strengths and latent talents and earn a living and command respect, not mere sympathy from others.

If Preethi intends to be the sturdy support of the severely disabled in need, it is Preethi’s parents who have in turn, been her backbone. In fact, it was Preethi’s mother who had convinced her to start such an organization. The greatest blessing in her life is her parents who've always showered her with unconditional love and support. After the accident their generosity of spirit and greatness was even more evident as they quietly sacrificed their lives so that she could live with dignity.
However, not everyone is as blessed in this respect. Many families feel burdened by the responsibility of a severely disabled member. And if such a person is a woman, and that too from an economically weaker section, then it spells a bigger trouble. Soul free aims to tackle this key issue by having certain rehabilitative measures like providing a home for quadriplegics and paraplegics who wish to live independently or are unable to get adequate support from immediate family, and making available skilled and qualified doctors, physiotherapists and attendants on call, and also have a care giver training institute.
It was probably her born intuition about people, her keen interest on the workings of the human mind, human relationships and perhaps her natural talent to be a secret keeper where people would comfortably divulge personal and confidential thoughts with her that made her want to study psychology. But that wasn't meant to be for the girl who in grade 12, had made it to the Who’s Who List of America for being among the country’s top two percent meritorious students!
In 2001 her father approached various universities (in Tamil Nadu) to join a bachelors in psychology. However, the rule book was thrown at them stating that she would have to come and spend 15 days at the University for compulsory contact classes, and that the buildings at the University are not wheelchair accessible at all. At one point her father got vexed and said that there was no need for some paper certifying that she is intelligent or knowledgeable. He brought her books she could read and expand her horizons with, and so she continued the learning process, even though she couldn't have a degree.
It seemed as if her excelling experience in swimming and cricket was being tested severely. She had to swim against the societal tide of rejection, pity and even being associated with misfortune. Her shoulders might have given way, but her sturdy will power and family support made her hold on to the bat and hit all the curve balls and off spins that fate was mercilessly bowling out at her in the battlefield of life. She took a pause and once again started hitting out to the boundaries

. 

There were dreams that were abandoned and hobbies that had to be given up but that gave way for new ones. Preethi has given several inspiring talks of motivation at various institutions. Through her words and example, she feels that she can be a source of inspiration for many, and motivate them.
Through her organization, Preethi hopes to create a massive change in the Indian society for the severely disabled by spreading awareness. Soul free aims to create gainful employment for those who can only use their voices. This initiative, called “Throat Fort” aims to train quadriplegics in the use of their voice for various vocations like recording of audio books, radio jockeys, voice dubbing artists, telephone marketing, etc.
The NGO that is still in its infancy is one of its kind in India and has the potential to bring about monumental change, an inclusive society and create a revolution for those suffering from severe physical disabilities. She have full faith that the citizens of India will respond to the sheer merit of the Soul free cause. Already, many people are coming out in support and wish to volunteer their time, expertise and resources for Soul free. She have no doubts that, as and when more and more people come to know, the movement will gain momentum and begin creating a positive impact in the lives of many.

We do wish Preethi and the Soul free initiative great success in achieving

 their goals and encourage all my readers to free their souls and do their bit for a more inclusive India.look beyond just the material realm, into something more meaningful and worthwhile. She honestly believes that she have been chosen as an instrument by the cosmic flow to spread light, love and laughter in the world, and the greater positive impact she can have in this world, the more fulfilled she feels.

A Face of Happiness, Kennady.

 Kennady Lakshmi, 22 (Department of English)

                                          

What else does someone need when he has a company of good friends around him? Kennady is one such lucky person to have good friends.

A post graduate student in Department of English, Kennady is partially visually impaired. He has the vision but not clear. The blurry vision of his eyes doesn't make him feel sad. He is a charming person and loves to make friends. He says, “Everyone in the university is good person. I never felt any problem or discrimination within the campus or outside. My friends are very cooperative and helpful.”

Being a low vision person, Kennady himself helps others who are differently abled. “I am blessed, at least to have some vision in my eyes. I feel bad for those who can’t see. I can’t imagine what they feel but I know that they need support”, says Kennady. He says that most of the people are busy with their own lives. Nobody bothers about those who are not able to do certain things. People like John James and many others within the campus and outside it as well need just support and motivation. All what they want is a better environment, where they don’t feel different but special.

Kennady is for sure an answer for all those who turn their faces from differently abled people. Despite being a low vision, he is dedicated to share his ability with those who are not abled. People like Kennady are definitely an agent of change in this materialistic world.

Someone has rightly said, “There is no greater disability in the society, than the inability to see a person as more”.

                                                  #ShareHandsShareHappiness