Wheels of Destiny

We are eager to travel far and wide. Every day, we dream of escaping the rut of daily life. Our bucket lists are brimming with destinations to explore. But what about those who are not able to escape the cards life has dealt to them? 

In February, I got a chance to visit the Association of People With Disability (APD) centre in Bangalore to understand their work. Below is a summary of the same.

Established in 1959 by Ms. N.S. Hema, a time when disability was considered a disease, so the idea of even recognizing the challenges of a disabled person was not under consideration. During that time, Ms. Hema, herself battling polio, showed immense courage and dedication to set up an institution that is transforming the lives of so many people even today.

She has authored a book, Wheels of Destiny, sharing her journey.

The centre which serves every type of recognised disability is well maintained, with a school, physiotherapy centre, workshop & nursery. Their scope of work touches all the aspects we can imagine in the life of a person with disability (PwD) and their caregivers. They call it the Life Cycle Approach, designed to address the needs of a person with disabilities at every stage of their life.

Their school, Shraddhanjali, highlights the importance of inclusive education with all kinds of kids coming together to study and helping each other, thus tackling this stigma early on. They even train & sensitize teachers in other government schools as a part of their collaboration with the government.

 

Source: https://www.apd-india.org/ 

The physiotherapists & other staff were warm and shared their methodologies and how it has brought relief to the kids and the parents. We learnt about various therapies like foot reflexology, hydrotherapy, speech therapy, psychological, cognitive & behaviour therapy, etc. 

  

The organization extensively works for people with spinal cord injuries, and they have a rehabilitation program called Cot-to-Community. They encourage the handicapped to get included in the community. Moreover, they also have a Rehabilitation-on-Wheel initiative started during Covid with corporate help for reaching out to people in remote areas. 

By providing assistive & adaptive mobility aids (all made by PwDs in their workshop) for daily living as well as vocational training in BPO, horticulture, etc, APD is committed to bringing equity & dignity in the lives of people with disabilities.  

Transit via Hong Kong - Sept 2024

Last year, I got a chance to visit Hong Kong, the city with the most skyscrapers. But my interest in the country had been more because of its history as we bore the brunt of the same colonialist power. 

In the 18th and early 19th centuries, British demand for Chinese goods such as silk, porcelain, and tea was so much that trading them with China was causing them to pay more silver than they were earning. Not only that, there were strict restrictions on who the British could trade with in China as all foreign trade had to go via the Hong merchants.

To tilt the balance of trade in their favour, British minds thought of exporting opium, an addictive drug from the opium plant. It made Indians grow and pack opium along the Ganga river belt and started pushing it in China. When the Chinese rulers banned it in 1796, they continued the trade illegally. 

As both parties refused to back down, tensions began to heighten, eventually leading to the first Opium War in 1839, which was won by the British. As part of the treaty of Nanking, China had to cede the island of Hong Kong and also pay for the opium it had seized and destroyed.

However, the British wanted more. Being traders, they wanted open access to China for trade apart from a legal permit to trade opium. This led to the 2nd Opium War in 1856. The Chinese lost again, this time the area north of Hong Kong Island called Kowloon.

As the British continued to expand their colonial boundaries, a lease was signed at a special convention between Britain and China, which granted Britain the territories above Kowloon for 99 years, now known as the New Territories. 

On 1 July 1997, Britain officially transferred authority over Hong Kong to China. Knowing a bit of the history makes the travel so much more interesting than merely watching the landmarks and taking selfies. I took the historic Peak Tram to Victoria Peak. Commenced in May 1888 by the British, it was the first cable funicular in Asia. As it rolls on to on the top, one can see numerous skyscrapers over the city’s rugged terrain dotting the skyline. 

I found the city extremely safe and convenient to navigate, with a robust public transportation system and unlimited high-speed internet connectivity. All this, coupled with its cultural diversity and affordable cost of living, makes it a great place for education and career.

Talking about public transportation, I have to mention The Star Ferry's ferry crossings at Victoria Harbour between Hong Kong Island and Kowloon. I didn’t know until now that The Star Ferry was started by Dorabjee Naorojee Mithaiwala, a Parsee cook who began a ferry service across Victoria Harbour with his steamboat, the Morning Star, in 1880. A value-for-money ferry ride with amazing sights and perspectives of Hong Kong City. My eyes chanced upon Dukling - the last authentic junk boat available for the public in Hong Kong

I crossed over to Kowloon at Tsim Sha Tsui waterfront in the evening for the show, Symphony of Lights, to end the visit to this vibrant cosmopolitan city.