“If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk long and reach far, walk together.”
Hello to all you wonderful readers and welcome to a brand new week with a new edition of Monday Truclusions. Yes, I remember my promise of telling you my experience at India’s first inclusive walkathon, organised by the India Inclusion Summit committee. But before that, let me narrate to you a small but a powerful story!
The Eyes And Legs Of Friendship
This is a story of two friends who wished to go on a journey and explore the world outside their house. Both of them were deprived of the opportunity of experiencing the outside world, because one of them was visually impaired, and the other couldn’t stand or walk on his own legs respectively. Life had been hard on them. To change that and to look for opportunities to make their mark, both of them, with great courage decided to go to different towns from their respective birth places.
They somehow made their mind to step out into the unknown. For two people who hadn’t crossed the street across their house, to cross the border of their town was a tremendous challenge. But the will power was strong enough not to let them give up on the challenge they had taken upon.
The guy who had the mobility issue sat on a wooden board and tried to push himself forward. But on the rugged roads and pot holes in them, he found it exceedingly difficult to continue his journey. On the other hand the visually impaired guy struggled to find his way with no guiding force with him.
Coincidentally it so happened that both men were about to cross the road, and the blind guy asked the other guy to help him. The person with the walking disability said that he would have readily helped him if he himself was able to walk! He looked at his new friend from the wooden plank and realised that the blind person was strongly built. That’s when an idea struck him that could benefit both of them!
The idea was that the guy with the vision impairment can carry the guy with the mobility problem on his shoulder. This way the immobile person would become the eyes of the unit, and the visually impaired person would become the legs! Both readily agreed and hence a new friendship was born! Both men reached a new destination and started working together, and lived happily ever after as great friends.
The Ocean Of Inclusive Walkathon
Now what is the connect between this story and the walkathon that I was part of? First of all, it was a walkathon that was first of its kind in India, where inclusion was the main agenda. We had received an overwhelming response with close to 2000 registrations. It was a human ocean at the venue early in the morning at 5 on a Sunday!
The huge crowd featured many inspiring inclusion champions, a few of them being top brass leaders of multi-national corporates. One of them was my own boss and a true inspiration, Madam Pankajam Sridevi, who believes in leading by example. She had just arrived the previous night after a long flight!
After a brief warm up, the walk began! We could see a sea of inclusion T-shirts set into motion. There were able bodied, visually impaired, hearing and speech impaired, and people on wheelchairs. Some PWDs had brought their buddies together, and some found new buddies to help them complete the walk. People who didn’t find a partner whom they could help, found another able-bodied partner and simulated disability by blind folding their partner!
This was a master stroke, as people got an opportunity to experience the challenges of a physical limitation. It also established to us that if one has the will to do something, nothing is impossible!
The best way to describe today’s walk is as the celebration of human spirits. Hence I repeat, “If you want to walk fast, walk alone. But if you want to walk long and reach far, walk together.”
Liked reading this? Then you might also like to read Monday Truclusions – Inclusive Walkathon By India Inclusion Summit To Create Awareness Around Disabilities
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