On Tuesday, the Worldwide Day of Individuals with Disabilities 2024, President Droupadi Murmu conferred 33 individuals and establishments with Nationwide Awards for Empowering Individuals with Disabilities. Amongst them have been two Punekars — Prathamesh Sinha and Priyanka Dabade-Kataria.
“This award is not only mine — it’s for everybody who believes of their capacity to beat challenges,” Prathamesh advised The Indian Categorical. “We celebrated this award in a small method with samosas within the household. The features are nonetheless happening. I’ll have a good time correctly after I come again to Pune tomorrow,” he provides.
A day after the award ceremony, the winners have been on a Dilli Darshan, travelling throughout the historic landmarks of the Capital. “Rajghat was an awesome expertise, the perfect half is that it’s accessible to particular individuals. There are Braille boards as nicely,” says Prathamesh, who needs to be an IAS officer.
“We speak of creating infrastructure in our nation. There is no such thing as a one who can perceive the right way to develop infrastructure for specifically abled individuals higher than a specifically abled particular person. The federal government ought to have insurance policies the place accessibility of infrastructure is checked by a specifically abled particular person,” he says.
The youngest awardee at 13, Prathamesh needed to face extreme challenges very early. Recognized with a mind tumour when he was 16 months outdated, he misplaced his imaginative and prescient by eight. His mom, Deepshikha Sinha, remembers these days as “devastating”. “I wish to inform different mother and father confronting incapacity in a baby that, it’s regular to be upset. However, attempt to settle for the scenario and attempt to repair it by no matter offers you energy, whether or not spirituality or self-motivation or something. It’s crucial for a mom to be a robust, in any other case how can she will be able to make her baby sturdy,” she provides.
“After we received the mail saying that Prathamesh had been chosen for the nationwide award, I used to be on cloud 9. It’s such a proud second for us as a household. This award exhibits the world what an individual can obtain, even when they face challenges like blindness,” she says.
After going through rejection from mainstream colleges, Prathamesh was home-schooled till 2019, when he joined the Poona Blind Faculty. Collaborating with Bengaluru-based Thinkerbell Labs, Prathamesh grew to become a key advocate for his or her ANNIE gadget, which helps visually impaired individuals study Braille independently. His work gained nationwide consideration when he offered the gadget on Shark Tank India and to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He now attends a daily college. “What has introduced me to date is accepting issues. I settle for the whole lot and proceed and I don’t dwell in negativity. I’m a deep believer in spirituality. Many individuals suppose spirituality is one thing that may finish your issues however no, it’s one thing that offers you the facility to face the issues. I’m religious in that respect,” he says.
Pursuit of excellence
Her LinkedIn profile describes her merely as a trainer, however 32-year-old Priyanka Dabade-Kataria is definitely an achiever. Winner of the silver medal within the Embroidery Talent Class and the Medal of Excellence on the tenth Worldwide Abilympics, a world abilities competitors for individuals with incapacity (PwDs) held in Metz, France, in 2023, Priyanka has been felicitated a number of occasions by the central authorities. She was at Rashtrapati Bhavan final 12 months to fulfill the President and once more on Tuesday to obtain her award.
“I’m feeling very excited and honoured to obtain the nationwide award,” she says by signal language to her brother, Omkar Dabade. Priyanka had listening to and speech disabilities and bone incapacity from delivery. “She was in a mainstream college for kindergarten the place there was no different specifically abled particular person. She was scared and folks used to tease her. Later, after Class X, she was enrolled in a college for listening to impaired individuals. After that, it was an open college, the place, once more, she felt misplaced. This time, she made up her thoughts that she would do one thing that might make her household pleased with her. She needed to realize an awesome objective and began working laborious for it,” says Omkar.
Priyanka studied until Class X and joined a vogue design course at MKSSS’s Nanavati Institute and later at iNIFD Pune. Crafts, particularly embroidery, grew to become Priyanka’s automobile. She participated in extracurricular actions and competitions, comparable to drawing. She enrolled for a course in silver jewelry making and received a nationwide award however selected hand embroidery to specialise.
At any time when she felt low, Priyanka can be bolstered by her mom, Sushma Dabade. Sushma raised Priyanka and Omkar single-handedly after the loss of life of her husband when the youngsters have been very younger. “My mom would assist her and provides her energy,” says Omkar. In March 2024, she received married.
A trainer at YMCA Garland Craig Memorial Faculty For The Deaf in Pune, Priyanka nonetheless lives by her beliefs. “Not sympathy however empathy is required. There is no such thing as a shortcut to success. Systematic, constant efforts, mixed with sturdy willpower, can flip any dream into actuality,” she says, including that she envisions a world the place everybody, regardless of their challenges, can reside with dignity and respect.
