Talent has no bar

27-year-old, hearing impaired, Sanjeev Kumar, came to Lady Irwin College with the hope to bag a job in the hospitality sector through an initiative that provide stability to the specially-challenged youth which was held recently in the capital.

Lakshmi Kumari from Dehradun who is visually impaired won two Gold Medals  in the last few years in Floral Arrangements through the same platform flagged off the Delhi Abilympics.

 This program is a skill-based competition and has completed a successful 19th edition,  ensures to provide a platform for the differently-abled to come out of their shell and regain their long-lost confidence. Some of these young talents were born different, whereas some were victims to mishaps or diseases in the past few years.

If the term Abilympics is to be explained, it would be  the Olympics of Abilities. This competition is popular among masses. It majorly analyse the vocational skills of disabled individuals. But, the skilful youth proved that labelling them differently on the basis of physical short come does not affect their potential and passion towards art and different profession. Organised every year, the events are structured to test competitors’ mental, physical and creative abilities. The participants got a chance to display their skills ranging from computer programming to baking to floral arrangement. The job scene was a grand affair as well at the event. Big names like Reliance Fresh, Big Basket, Metro Cash n Carry, Capgemini, Concentrix, Pullman, Olive Group, Lemon Tree Hotels were there to hire people on the basis of their intellectual skills rather than focussing on their physicality. Renu Rathod, Manager - Talent & Acquisition, Capgemini who was one of the recruiter opined, “We need to provide the right infrastructure, environment and appropriate projects wherein their skill set will suit the opening. We as an employer don’t keep any disparity towards PwDs and currently we have 500 PwDs working with us. We are still working towards making our workspace PwDs compliant with services like Electric Cars, Wheelchair Access, Braille signages & more.”

Dr Jitender Aggrawal, the man behind empowering this whole lot, was a dentist himself until a few years ago when he lost his eyesight due to Macular Degeneration,   said, “After losing my vision in 2004, it was like drooping in harness for me not sure about what to do next. Thankfully I got help and was able to know that there are computer operated jobs for people for people like me. Thus, it is all of our joint mto to try and guide these youngsters to find their purpose in life.”

It was not an ordinary classroom, nor an ordinary training centre or neither a mundane event. There were chirps everywhere, and for the first time it felt like sign languages can be equally melodious as spoken words are. The event was hosted by the National Abilympics Association of India (NAAI), under the aegis of Sarthak Educational Trust with the support of The Hans Foundation and was an eye-opener for Delhi-ites. Apart from the job fair that was held on the second day of the two-day event, national competitions for Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and hard-hitting discourses on the self-sustainability of these people were some of the key in the country. 21-year-old Karan went home with a big smile on face with a feeling of financially and professionally stable from now on.