Introduction

As a woman in India, I feel that we are in an incredible time in history that is filled with infinite possibility for positive change.
Yes, there are myriad challenges and fearsome dangers, but there’s also great potential to ignite fundamental change in the core concepts that fuel our laws and norms. I’m excited to be a spark for growth and progress amongst the Indian psyche; creating a revolution that will uplift and positively impact millions.

Challenged India

There are more than 75 million people living with disabilities in India, and more than 15% of them suffer from severe challenges which make them liable to suffer immense stigma and discrimination. Women with disability are treated as expendables, with indifference and apathy, or even seen as a shame on the family and encouraged to commit suicide. This is no exaggeration; in many rural areas of India, women with severe disabilities like spinal-cord injury are disappearing like an endangered species. Society teaches them that their lives have no value, and many families go to the extent of telling them that they are nothing more burdens, callously snuffing out their very will to live.

The stark truth is that the majority of Indians have no idea about such things happening around them. So, how’d I come to know of it? The answer is simple, through personal experience. It is very easy to close our minds and hearts to that which doesn’t affect us personally, it is very easy to ignore suffering and injustice when it has nothing to do with us, but, when reality hits us directly, and it becomes difficult to maintain objectivity and distance.

The Turn

A charmed childhood it was that I lived; and as far as I was concerned life was going to be smooth sailing. The only child born to a loving couple after much penance, nine years after they were married, I was showered with unconditional love and care. In return, I tried my best to become somebody my parents could be proud of, and thought I’d succeed for most of the part. I was amongst top 2% of students in US, a member of the Tamil Nadu Senior Women’s Cricket Team at just eight years of age, and a national level swimmer. Effortlessly excelling in almost every arena of life, I was definitely a “most promising youngster”, until my whole world came crumbling down in a split second.

At the age of 18, a college excursion turned into a nightmare, when a freak accident along the Pondicherry Beach, left me paralysed below the neck with a spinal-cord injury. Unable to control my most basic activities, I hid from the world, lost and broken. With the unconditional love of my parents and grace of spiritual masters, some fundamental shift happened in my consciousness over the next decade, allowing me to reach a state of equipoise, peace and surrender. I’m not saying its easy now, I’m just saying I can be the witness of my own story and allow it to unfold with minimum identification and investment. It’s much like watching a movie, you still want the hero/heroine to succeed, but at the end of the day, you can walk away no matter what.

A Light of Hope

After spending more than a decade in almost total isolation, with only my parents caring for me, the pitiful plight of others in my condition, came as a shock to me. I couldn’t understand how one’s own family can think of one as a burden and wish for one to be dead. However, I didn’t have the will to do anything about it either – just like most of us – I wanted to pretend that there wasn’t anything I could do. My God, I couldn’t even care for myself, how was I going to help thousands of others like me?

It was my mother who advised me saying, “If everyone in a seemingly secure condition decided to ignore the desperate cries of those who suffer, then how will society evolve? Although we are one of the most populous countries in the world, there is NO ‘long-term care centre’ or ‘live-in establishment’ that will house will and with severe-disabilities all over India today. If nobody becomes the face and voice of this invisible section of the population, how will they be heard or helped? Only by creating awareness about the dire need for sweeping changes in the area of disability rights and quality of life, can we change status quo, and revolutionise the way those in wheelchairs are viewed by society. You have to go out there and make it happen.”

So it was that I took a leap of faith, and established “Soulfree”, a public charitable trust to help the severely-disabled live a life of dignity and purpose. The organisation’s primary focus is on the needs of women with disabilities, especially due to spinal cord injury by providing dedicated support in medical care, rehabilitation, education, employment, societal acceptance and integration, government assistance, long-term care facilities, thus providing a constant knowledgebase and support system for the families of those with spinal cord injuries.

Presented below are some of Soulfree’s key objectives

A spinal-cord injury can happen to anyone at any time. Our aim is to prevent future injuries by spreading awareness about what a spinal cord injury is and how to prevent it amongst the youth of India.

PREVENTION THROUGH EDUCATION

1. IMPROVEMENT OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL CARE
India’s emergency medical care system is poor at best, if not non-existent. Many a time spinal-cord injuries occur after an accident, when the victim is being removed from the vehicle, taken to hospital or soon afterwards. It is vital that trained emergency medical technicians, who are aware of how to stabilize the spine so that spinal-cord injuries can be prevented, are available soon after an accident.

2. SPINAL-CORD INJURY AWARENESS AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS
There is no cure at all anywhere in the world for a spinal cord injury as of now – it automatically means a lifetime in a wheelchair. By following safety precautions undue risks may be minimized.

3. EMPOWER
Soulfree aims to fulfil every human’s inherent right to a basic quality of life with the hope for fulfilment of their dreams and ambitions, including their wishes for education & employment.

EMPOWERMENT AND REHABILITATION

1. REHABILITATION AND LIVE-IN CENTRE
Soulfree’s ultimate goal is to create a long-term facility equipped to care for the severely disabled permanently and train them to have productive employment.

2. WHEELCHAIR ACCESSIBILITY
The ground reality is that a person in a wheelchair is unable to go into public and residential buildings because of lack of wheelchair accessibility. Simple alterations like ramps and elevators can make the world of the disabled a lot less unfriendly.

3. HOLISTIC REHABILITATION PROGRAMS
To provide a support system for the families of those who have a spinal cord injury from the first moment (grief counselling, guidance, and all-round support) as soon as a spinal-cord injury takes place so that the person gets proper rehabilitation and care every step of the way.

4. NETWORKING AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT:
To setup databases so that those with spinal-cord injuries are in touch with many others who are going through the same troubles so that they can share ideas, problems, solutions and have a community support system.

5. VOLUNTEER DATABASES
Support of the community, government, corporate houses and NGOs will be vital in setting up volunteer databases. Volunteer databases could also be created for specialised help, like physiotherapists, doctors, nurses, trained caregivers, scribes etc.

6. VOLUNTEER
Soulfree welcomes all those who wish to volunteer time, expertise, and resources to support and encourage the soulfree cause.

7. CREATE A MORE INCLUSIVE SOCIETY
Be the change by being open to the positively-abled; Befriend, employ, uplift, empower and create wheelchair-friendly spaces.

8. SPREAD THE WORD
Unite with us to pioneer a positive revolution for disability rights in India and bring your friends along.

9. DONATE
Whatever resources you wish to share with Soulfree shall be used sincerely and constructively.

I believe that I can be an inspiration to many through my example that anything is possible as long as one has self-belief and self-esteem. I would be happy to be invited as a motivational speaker to schools, colleges and corporate houses. This would in turn support Soulfree activities as well.

Soulfree has a great vision that has the potential to positively impact millions of people in dire need. However, we are still on the stage of infancy, and need the support and encouragement of every Indian citizen to succeed. I do not have any special expertise, experience or corporate backing; I just have a dream! With faith, persistence, perseverance, and the passion born out of the will to serve a larger purpose, I’m working to create a Soulfree India – a society that is inclusive and sensitised to the needs of those with challenges – and I look forward to your support and encouragement in my journey.