Know us for our Abilities, not for Disabilities!

Every eye in the room was fixed on the television screen. Heartbeats were running high. And eventually that long awaited moment arrived and entire room got echoed with loud cheers loaded with……… big Yehhhh… Yahoo and Hurrrreee!! Everyone jumped with joy as Kushal Resham, a 14 years boy with intellectual disabilities, declared to be the winner of a gold medal at the World summer games 2015 held in Los Angeles, United States. At Keshav Seva Sadhana’s School for Special Children, located in Dicholi, a small Taluka in the Indian state of Goa, it was the time for celebration  at this Special School, established under an initiative of RSS to serve the society, as its students had just achieved what made all of them indeed feel so proud.

 “Feeling of joy was inexpressible when Kushal bagged the gold medal in 1000 meters roller skating”, shares Kushal’s instructor Premanand Naik, adding the boy also won another Gold in 200×2 meter (Relay) and a Bronze in 300 meter roller skating. Two other children of the school Riya Gavde and Urmila also proved their metal in this Special Olympics. While 13 years old Riya won Silver medal in 1000 meter and 300 meter rink & relay with Bronze in100×2mts (Relay), Urmila got Bronze in 300 meter roller skating. Premanand Naik calls how in the initial days being special children, their parents feared they could get injured during sports activities and were not ready to let them join sports. But somehow he convinced them and what happened after that is nothing less than a miracle. These charismatic children made all the country proud 

 Going down the memory lane Vibhaag Sanghchalak and  secretary to the Sanstha Laxman Behare (Nanaji) tells that under an initiative of RSS to serve the underprivileged Keshav Seva Sadhana started working in 1992 in Goa. Over the period of time KSS expanded its horizons into various segments such as establishing Special Schools for differently able children, Rural Health and hostels for less privileged children. After discovering that Dicholi area has 300 mentally disabled children through a survey- a School for Special Children were established in 2004 and another one in Valpoi area in 2011. Currently 160 students are studying at KSS’s Special School in Dicholi. Besides basic education these children also learn vocational skills such as Diwali Diya, Painting, Rakhi Making, Paper Plate making and few others due to the virtue of this vocational courses a girl from the school Vibha Ajit Kanekar was awarded the Balshree Award in the year 2010 under the creative art & performance category.

 Dr. Lorraine Saldhana, a Physiotherapist associated with the KSS Special School in Dicholi, unfolds that these disabled children are actually full of possibilities and abilities. “My notion about these children is quite different from the conventional thinking. I felt they are nature’s treasure yet to be explored, actually this is who we are disabled to see the abilities lies in these children”, says Dr. Lorrian, adding that being disabled should not mean being disqualified from having access to any aspect of life and RSS Swaymsevaks doing an incredible job to make this thought a reality all across Goa under the aegis of Keshav Seva Sadhana. 

CONTACT   – LAKSHMAN BEHARE (NANA JI)

MOB. NO. – 09422443165