Specially-abled children defy odds to get fins

Deepankar Sharda

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 25 

“The greatest pleasure in life is doing what people say you cannot do”, these words from Walter Bagehot, a 19th century UK businessman and essayist, epitomise the character 16 specially-abled children who visit the Sector 23 all-weather pool every day to make a splash. 

“It’s amazing to see these kids swim like normal people. They are least bothered about the depth of the pool,” said Rakesh Kumar, a coach from Society for the Rehabilitation of the Mentally Challenged (SOREM), Sector 36, who accompanies the group to the pool. 

The UT Sports Department has granted these children special permission to learn swimming free of cost and they are making the best use of the opportunity. “Some of them cannot even stand properly, but once in the pool, they manage their strokes perfectly,” Kumar added. Interestingly, the youngest in the squad is just six years old while the eldest one is 40. 

“They need to be promoted. People always say it’s tough to bring up such kids, which is true, but activities like these improve their mental and physical personalities. We are planning to organise a championship, next month, for these kids. We will be inviting all the schools of the region which take care of such differently-abled kids,” said Kumar. 

While majority of these kids are from SOREM, children from Bhavan Vidyalaya School, Asha Schools and others also come here. While the coach is satisfied with his wards’ happiness, the parents believe that this was the best way to treat these kids. 

“For normal children going out, playing games or roaming around with friends is an enjoyable moment. But for these kids, their inner happiness is the most important thing,” said Vishal, a parent. 

“We come here after finishing the school. These kids remain excited throughout the day by just thinking about swimming. They are not concerned about the depth of the pool or fear of drowning, which sometimes is risky, but all this makes them courageous,” Vishal pointed. 

DS Sekhon, another parent, meanwhile, said the authorities should organise some championships for these children also. “It’s appreciable that the department has fixed a time slot for these kids. Like normal kids, they also can swim the full length of the pool. I believe they deserve a platform to perform, like their normal counterparts. It will not evaluate their performance, but will give them a chance to experience the competition,” said Sekhon.

Sports Director Capt Karnail Singh said these children need to be treated at par with the normal athletes. “We have dedicated hours for these kids. After all, they deserve everything that a normal player gets. They also make us proud at national and international level. I hope their affiliate association organsies a championship for them, and if they need our help they are most welcome,” he said.