It was a very special day for hearing impaired children from schools across Bangalore as they participated in a cricket tournament organised in celebration of Children’s Day.
It was a very special day for hearing impaired children from schools across Bangalore as they participated in a cricket tournament organised in celebration of Children’s Day.
More than winning or losing, the children were enthusiastic about playing. Nobody had to tell them the rules, they knew it all.
Family Services and Hand in Hand, both NGOs that seek to comfort and help those in need, organised the cricket match for about 150 children from various institutions for the hearing impaired around Bangalore on Saturday.
Primus Public School played the host for the event. In addition to commemorating Chacha Nehru’s birthday, the idea behind the match was to promote equity in sports.
Silently making their presence felt among the supportive audience, these 150 odd children proved to the world that they are just as capable as anyone else is. And this, they did by portraying their dedication, team work, and great sportsmanship.
There were eight teams that participated in the match and after a competitive set of rounds, the teams from National Residential School for the Deaf (RSD) and Sheila Kothavala Institute for the Deaf (SKID) made it to the finals. “I had great fun. I focused on the game and played as well as I could,” said Shivashankar, captain of the winning team from RSD.
Over 50 hearing-impaired youth along with staff of Movenpick Hotels & Resorts volunteered at the event to make it a success.
“Being new in Bangalore, we are making our best efforts in giving back to the society. But today, we are only looking forward to being a part of the happiness of these kids. We can only imagine a life without one of the senses, but the real difficulty would never be known to us.” said Gary Moran, general manager, Movenpick.
“Students here are just like students elsewhere. Just because they are deaf doesn’t mean they don’t have a social life,” said Tamanna Pandya, a volunteer at the event.
The event concluded with Trans Asia Shipping Group sponsoring utility gifts, spreading a cheer factor among children. Although India is an otherwise cricket- crazy nation, it is yet to make its mark in the disabled category. Such initiatives provide reassurances that this lacuna will be addressed.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}