Special children feted on Day for the disabled

Ayaan received the inaugural bravery award from the Lepra India Trust on International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

Ayaan, a 14-year-old hearing-impaired student who rescued seven-year-old Ilma, after she fell into a drain last month, received the inaugural bravery award from the Lepra India Trust on International Day of Persons with Disabilities on Saturday.

Karan Singh presents the bravery award to a student of Lepra India Trust in New Delhi on Saturday. (Arvind Yadav/ HT Photo)

Ilma, who is hearing-impaired and has speech articulation issues, fell into the drain while she was going to the school run by the trust on November 7. She was accompanied by her brother Adeeb, 10, who studies at the same school. Adeeb, also hearing-impaired, struggled to pull his sister out from the drain.

Speaking on the occasion, former MP and Congress leader Karan Singh said, “The World Disability Day is celebrated to encourage and help disabled people and organisations like Lepra India Trust are giving such students a platform. Initially, when these students come in, they lack a lot of motivation...but after 2-4 years, the change that we see in students is incredible.”

Lepra India Trust was formed by Naveen Chawla, who was a former Chief Election Commissioner of India.

Chawla said that even though the Lepra Trust was not a boarding school, the students were offered a ‘hot meal’ and a pickup service. “I want to send my students to summer school or the national school of drama. The students have immense talent and I would like them to interact and open up to the outside world. Our biggest achievement is if we can get a differently-abled child to attend a normal school. It is easy to say that education is free but if there are no hearing aid and no speech therapy in school, how can a disabled child learn anything?” said Chawla.

“The parents are the biggest motivation for students. We also offer uniforms to students along with a commuter service and a meal,” Chawla added.

Mrinalini Chawla, a trustee, said, “We have our judgments about disability. However, Ayaan, the award winner, is very intelligent and sensitive. In a tough moment, he reached out to help when others were simply watching without helping the children in need.”

Lepra India Trust has 62 differently-abled students.