News

Volume 1 Issue 7 - December 01, 2003

Can and able: Quiz that overcame all handicaps

It was a quiz show with a difference: One that transcended disability and brought together the physically challenged and the differently-abled together on a common platform. Focussing on teamwork rather than individual brilliance, a quiz - that saw participation from more than 20 Delhi schools - was recently organised. It had a four-member team comprising a visually impaired child, a hearing impaired child and an orthopaedically impaired child along with one non-disabled team member.

In the end, it was this quartet from JD Tytler School, New Rajendra Nagar, which emerged triumphant in enterprise and team spirit. "The school is the only one in the city that has implemented the concept of inclusive education in its true sense. In fact, of the numerous public schools participating in the quiz, JD Tytler was the only one to send a full team with all four students from their own school according to the format of the quiz. For other schools, we had to get people from special schools to complete the four-member team." pointed out George Abraham, CEO of Score Foundation, part of the Inclusion Alliance, who organised the event.

Sushant Tuli (orthopaedically impaired), Gauri Narula (hearing impaired), Lohit Gupta (visually challenged) and Shaily Massey set aside mental inhibitions and physical limitations to emerge easy winners. "We are feeling on top of the world. We had prepared for the quiz only for the past two weeks and we are taking back the trophy for the school," says Shaily.

"This is just the beginning," says Mr Abraham "Events like these are part of a campaign to demonstrate that with a little bit of sensitivity and care, people with diverse abilities can be accommodated in any ability with dignity and pride," he adds.