A physical disability does not necessarily mean the end of living a full life. This has been amply proved by our three Asha School achievers.
We all cherish our achievements and shy away from our short comings. It is these limitations, which lead us on to the road of success. And who knows better about the roller coaster called 'life' than those at 'Asha Schools'.
Their lives, which speak volumes about endurance and achievements, are worth highlighting. Here are a few Asha school achievers, who have not conquered others, but them selves and that is the greatest achievement of all.
Beating all odds
Prakash Chand was born on December 19, 1980 with multiple disabilities. His parents hail from Uttarakhand and his father was a Warrant Officer in the Army Postal Service.
Prakash Chand, came to AWWA Asha School, Delhi at the age of 14. His progress was quite brisk as he learnt and understood things at a very rapid pace. He became well aware of his surroundings, school atmosphere, teachers, staff and students, and adjusted well.
Later, when he started looking for a job, his multiple disabilities came in his way. It is at this point that the management of Asha School decided that he should be absorbed in the same school as a gateman.
Since that day, Prakash is working as a gateman. Sports is his forte and he even won a Silver Medal in a 500 metres cycle race and a bronze medal in a 1 kilometer cycle race at Jharkhand, at the national level, in January 2010.
Given an opportunity, he can further hone his skills as a sportsman. It is really creditable that he has graduated to be a self-sufficient man, a champion amongst sports men.
Passion for dance
Ashwin Rajan, a 20 years old student of Asha School, Pune, has been in the school since 1996 and is now undergoing vocational training. Ashwin was diagnosed with Down's syndrome, along with hyperactive behaviour.
Ashwin has shown overall development and independence in most aspects of daily life.
He does all jobs given to him meticulously and with responsibility, e.g. keeping the doors and gates closed, switching off the gas regulator, maintaining the garden, etc.
In fact, his hyperactivity has been channelised positively and he is now co-operative with all age groups.
Dancing being his passion, he has been participating in cultural programmes, not only in the school, but also those organised by the Kerala Association, churches, and stage performances organised by his dance academy.
He was also selected in the audition of a dance reality show organised by a TV channel.
Learning to Talk
Meena Kumari, aged 14 yrs, joined the Tiger Asha School, Jammu Cantt, Satwari on April 2008 with speech disability and hearing impairment.
When Meena joined, she could only speak her name and did not know anything about counting, alphabets, fruits, vegetables, parts of the body, sentences, rhymes etc.
Poonam Raina, a speech therapist, imparted speech training and helped her to grow.
Meena's parents are very happy with her progress, as she can now convey herself through broken sentences. She has even participated and won prizes in dancing, colouring, painting and skating as part of inter school competitions.
"Asha School is proud of these achievers and others like them. As Frank Clark said," Every one is trying to accomplish something big, not realizing that life is made up of little things." This is exactly what our young achievers have done. Kudos to them!