Their dream of flying through clouds took wings, courtesy a people’s initiative. Twenty-six differently abled students from Government Oriental Higher Secondary School, Edathanattukara, Mannarkad, Palakkad, flew down to the city from Nedumbassery, realising a dream that none of them thought was within reach.
It was a year-and-a half ago that the school’s inclusive education for the disabled (IED) teacher Divya P. was teaching the students about means of transport during a Saturday special class.
After class, as Ms. Divya was walking out, she heard them discuss how some of them had experienced road and rail trips and had even been to the beach, but were unlikely to ever get an opportunity to travel by air.
That was when Ms. Divya brought the matter to the attention of the school authorities, and set out to realise the dream of 30 differently abled students of the school, with a total strength of 2,385 students from Classes V to XII.
Each year, the school tries to undertake one activity on its own for the differently abled students.
It began with a subdistrict level get-together of the students and their families, followed by a district level gathering, and then a visit to the Kozhikode beach and planetarium.
This year, as part of its academic master plan, it was decided to give the children an experience of air travel. But getting the plan off the ground took some planning and effort and the help of some sponsors.
Sponsors
In stepped sponsors such as the Jeddah-based Jeddah Edathanattukara Educational and Welfare Society, Kuwait-based Baby Anil Kumar, degree batchmates of Ms. Divya, and old students of the school, thanks in large part to social media.
On Saturday, 26 of the 30 IED students, three other students, 10 teachers, Ms. Divya, one PTA executive member and headmaster Abdunnasar first reached Kochi by road where they spent the day boating and travelling by Kochi Metro. Later in the day, they flew out of Nedumbassery and reached the State capital at night.
On Sunday, they visited the Padmanabhaswamy temple, the museum and the zoo, and the planetarium, before returning home by train.
New sights
The visit exposed the students to new sights and experiences that they will cherish, be it Shamna who has cerebral palsy but has not let it come in the way of learning karate or Jinshad who clicked photos on his tablet and danced and sang when the mood struck him.