Census 2011 reveals Goa has 33,012 differently-abled people of which 17,016 are males and 15,996 are females.
Gabriela D’Mello’s life like that of many others has been a challenge right from the beginning but the support she received from her family, friends, school and college helped her through each difficulty she encountered. At every stage of her life however it was the government that put unnecessary hurdles in her path. Her brave front reveals nothing of what she went through. Her mother Jacqueline instead fills us in on the details.
Doctors told her that Gabriela would be blind by the time she was 15. Although she excelled in school this thought kept playing on her parents’ minds. In school she sat on the first bench and friends and teachers were ready to assist any way they could.
The family got the first shock when she answered her SSC board exam. She followed the required prodecure to obtain a reader writer to assist her during the exam. She sat in a different classroom and wrote out all the answers read out to her, by herself. But the shocker came when the board withheld her results. “I made many trips to the Goa board to explain and get things cleared. Although the rules were pretty clear cut, they made a mess of them,” Gabriela says.
Jacqueline says it was her dream for her daughter to answer the SSC exam and she was excited since she knew the effort her daughter had put in. The board keeping her results in reserve was a frustrating. “The remarks of the Chairman of the Goa Board were very bad. We cannot forget his words,” she says. When her results were declared, she scored a distinction.
The next stage of her life began. She began studying at Damodar College of Commerce in Margao and at the University level again she was harassed when it came to answering board exams. She was asked to choose between a reader writer or extra time, when in fact the law entitled her to get both.
Her father went to the Commissioner and to the Registrar at the University but to no avail. He then filed a writ petition in the High Court and the decision was given in her favour. Unfortunately his came just three days before her exams began. “Although the HC gave the verdict in her favour there was so much mental turmoil that we all had to go through before the exam,” Jacqueline says.
Gabriela now works at an NGO after she completed her MBA at Goa University. Her struggles continue as she tries to get a government job.
People with disabilities have three percent reservation – one percent for the visually challenged, one percent for the hearing impaired and one percent for the orthopedically handicapped. However each time advertisements appear in newspapers government departments fail to mention which category the post is being advertised for.
“I take all the trouble to register for a reader writer and answer the written test and go for the interview. Only when it comes to the selection process that they tell me ‘oh this post is actually for the orthopedically handicapped, it’s not for you. It is a waste of my effort and time. They should just state it clearly in the advertisement,” Gabriela says.
Securing a distinction at the Goa board as well as at the Goa University, her mother angry with the system says her daughter didn’t deserve the treatment she got. She has a clear message to deliver. “The educationalists should be educated first. They’re educating people but they aren’t educated themselves.”
Another fighter is Vishant Nagvekar, disgnosed with polio when he was one and a half years old. He says he didn’t face many difficulties in school except when using public transport, for which his family was always there to help out. The lack of accessibility for someone differently abled like himself, was the biggest problem. “If you leave that out I didn’t face too many troubles as everyone always cooperated.
After he graduated he began working as a computer instructor and then went on to work for a pharmaceutical company and the government. He worked for the social welfare department for six years, the forest department, the directorate of panchayats, directorate of fisheries and is presently working at the directorate of craftsman training, Patto.
“So many disabled people have excelled. For those who can move about there’s no reason to stay at home and feel ashamed. If people talk, let them talk. They should take advantage of opportunities and the government schemes available,” he says.
Vishant is happily married and says his partner supports him all the way and doesn’t see his disability as a problem.
Avelino D’Sa an investment consultant is working to bring the differently abled in Goa under a single organisation ‘Disability Rights and Us’. He started the organisation in October 2003 and although the Disability Act came into force in 1996 not much was being done by the State government. The attitude of the government he says is restricted to lip service.
“We have been asking for a separate department for welfare of disabled persons. Only 8000 disabled people are covered by department of social welfare. The balances aren’t registered with the directorate of social welfare. They directorate has only one assistant director and one clerk to handled all the differently abled in Goa,” he says.
The differently abled have been actively participating in sports and representing the State at the Special Olympics. Luis Fernandes, Sports Director, Special Olympics says the differently abled from the State have been participating for the past 25 years now and have brought back many medals and laurels. Back then there were only 50 students registered. Today there are over 5000 children registered including 20 schools registered with Special Olympics.
Earlier the children would only participate in athletics. Today they play all games except the potentially dangerous games like boxing. Javelin has also been introduced lately. The government felicitated the winners with cash prizes back in 2007 but since them there have been only promises.
The best way to judge the impact that sports has on their lives is to ask their parents. “When they return from a sports camp, they are new people. They are not dependent on anyone and feel a new sense of self worth,” Luis says.
