International Day of Persons with Disabilities: 13-year-old who showed his device on Shark Tank, 32-year-old teacher from Pune win national award

A time aft the grant ceremony, the winners were connected a Dilli Darshan, travelling crossed the historical landmarks of the Capital. “Rajghat was a large experience, the champion portion is that it is accessible to peculiar people. There are Braille boards arsenic well,” says Prathamesh, who wants to beryllium an IAS officer.

“We speech of processing infrastructure successful our country. There is nary 1 who tin recognize however to make infrastructure for specially abled radical amended than a specially abled person. The authorities should person policies wherever accessibility of infrastructure is checked by a specially abled person,” helium says.

The youngest awardee astatine 13, Prathamesh had to look terrible challenges precise early. Diagnosed with a encephalon tumour erstwhile helium was 16 months old, helium mislaid his imaginativeness by eight. His mother, Deepshikha Sinha, remembers those days arsenic “devastating”. “I would similar to archer different parents confronting disablement successful a kid that, it is mean to beryllium disappointed. But, effort to judge the concern and effort to hole it done immoderate gives you strength, whether spirituality oregon self-motivation oregon anything. It’s precise important for a parent to beryllium a strong, different however tin she tin marque her kid strong,” she adds.

“When we got the message saying that Prathamesh had been chosen for the nationalist award, I was connected unreality nine. It’s specified a arrogant infinitesimal for america arsenic a family. This grant shows the satellite what a idiosyncratic tin achieve, adjacent if they look challenges similar blindness,” she says.

After facing rejection from mainstream schools, Prathamesh was home-schooled until 2019, erstwhile helium joined the Poona Blind School. Collaborating with Bengaluru-based Thinkerbell Labs, Prathamesh became a cardinal advocator for their ANNIE device, which helps visually impaired radical larn Braille independently. His enactment gained nationalist attraction erstwhile helium presented the instrumentality connected Shark Tank India and to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He present attends a regular school. “What has brought maine truthful acold is accepting things. I judge everything and proceed and I don’t dwell successful negativity. I americium a heavy believer successful spirituality. Many radical deliberation spirituality is thing that volition extremity your problems but no, it is thing that volition springiness you the powerfulness to look the problems. I americium spiritual successful that respect,” helium says.

Pursuit of excellence

Her LinkedIn illustration describes her simply arsenic a teacher, but 32-year-old Priyanka Dabade-Kataria is really an achiever. Winner of the metallic medal successful the Embroidery Skill Category and the Medal of Excellence astatine the 10th International Abilympics, a planetary skills contention for persons with disablement (PwDs) held successful Metz, France, successful 2023, Priyanka has been felicitated aggregate times by the cardinal government. She was astatine Rashtrapati Bhavan past twelvemonth to conscionable the President and again connected Tuesday to person her award.

“I americium feeling precise excited and honoured to person the nationalist award,” she says done motion connection to her brother, Omkar Dabade. Priyanka had proceeding and code disabilities and bony disablement from birth. “She was successful a mainstream schoolhouse for kindergarten wherever determination was nary different specially abled person. She was frightened and radical utilized to tease her. Later, aft Class X, she was enrolled successful a schoolhouse for proceeding impaired people. After that, it was an unfastened school, where, again, she felt retired of place. This time, she made up her caput that she would bash thing that would marque her household arrogant of her. She wanted to execute a large extremity and started moving hard for it,” says Omkar.

Priyanka studied till Class X and joined a manner plan people astatine MKSSS’s Nanavati Institute and aboriginal astatine iNIFD Pune. Crafts, particularly embroidery, became Priyanka’s vehicle. She participated successful extracurricular activities and competitions, specified arsenic drawing. She enrolled for a people successful metallic jewellery making and won a nationalist grant but chose manus embroidery to specialise.

Whenever she felt low, Priyanka would beryllium bolstered by her mother, Sushma Dabade. Sushma raised Priyanka and Omkar single-handedly aft the decease of her hubby erstwhile the children were precise young. “My parent would enactment her and springiness her strength,” says Omkar. In March 2024, she got married.

A teacher astatine YMCA Garland Craig Memorial School For The Deaf successful Pune, Priyanka inactive lives by her beliefs. “Not sympathy but empathy is needed. There is nary shortcut to success. Systematic, accordant efforts, combined with beardown willpower, tin crook immoderate imagination into reality,” she says, adding that she envisions a satellite wherever everyone, irrespective of their challenges, tin unrecorded with dignity and respect.