Forum works for inclusivity of differently-abled

How did this inspire? “I always used to wonder who people in the disability sector were bullied and face so many obstacles. I realised we had to do something to make their lives easier. So two years ago, we started Voice of the Unheard with an aim towards not only creating awareness among people, but also empower the community,” explains Ashwini.

Most of them being recent college graduates, the young group of six now work with kids in the disabled sector, organising events for them and training them in creative pursuits like art, dance, music and so on. “Next up, we plan to work with underprivileged kids in the disabled sector (beginning with those who are hearing-impaired) living in rural areas. We are going to bring in doctors, lawyers, counsellors, etc to help them lead a better lifestyle,” she says.

For now, their focus is on the Vaanga Pesalam project that will see them host the event at Vidya Sagar Special Needs School, this coming Saturday at 4 pm.

“The first episode of this series will be revolving around the topic ‘The Disability Tag - We are more than our disabilities’. Counselling psychologist Archana Achuthan will be our speaker. We mean for this to be an open forum of discussion where anyone can come and talk, discuss, create solutions, brainstorm ideas and do everything towards making this an inclusive society. We are also planning to have open acts such as music or dance along with the discussion.”