In the world of make-believe and scraped knees, children discovered the joy of sports—the thrill of competition, the bond of teamwork, and the art of picking oneself up after a fall. It's about learning that success isn't just about winning but about pushing one's limits. In those moments of shared triumph or shared defeat, children learn the essence of teamwork and the beauty of standing together in the face of challenges. The field becomes a canvas, and each game is a brushstroke painting the portrait of a more resilient, determined character of any child.
For many children however, playgrounds can feel alien. Aditya KV saw this firsthand in the eyes of the differently abled children he taught in his Teach for India classes. This was a look that Aditya recognised, through personal experience. As an avid sportsman, Aditya knew what it was like to be shut out of the playground: he had suffered an injury that caused him to be bedridden. In his case, the disability had been a temporary one.
Aditya saw that differently abled children were not only excluded from sports activities, but often also subjected to bullying, which impacted their sense of self-worth. It is hard to feel good about yourself, when the first thing that other people see is what you ‘can't do'.
For Aditya, who built his sense of self on the playground, Umoya was a natural outcome of the problems he witnessed. Today, Umoya Sports aims to empower one million students with and without disabilities by creating inclusive and holistic sports programmes. The organisation addresses three challenges faced by children with disabilities: lack of quality in-school programmes, lack of social skills and integration, and physical and mental health issues.
By partnering with schools, NGOs, and communities to provide year-long sports programmes that teach fundamental movement, play, and sports skills, Umoya Sports is creating spaces for people with disabilities to focus on the things they can do, and what they can excel at. The programs lean on social and emotional learning, build leadership and teamwork skills amongst students, and help children with disabilities build that same sense of camaraderie, and those friendships that will (hopefully!) last a lifetime.
So far, Umoya Sports has reached over 12,000 students across 40 schools in Delhi NCR and Hyderabad. To honour stories like Umoya Sports and Aditya, AU Small Finance Bank presents Badlaav Humse Hai Season 2, in association with Network18. Just like the first season, Season 2 celebrates 25 stories that showcase changemakers whose unsung work has helped carve out cultural identities for communities, lifted them out of poverty; created access where only barriers existed; shown communities how to work with nature to create true sustainability; changed hearts and minds about othered communities; changed the lives of many through economic, social or educational empowerment, and much, much more.
In India, we are rich in stories like Aditya KV's. As we grow into a stronger nation, it is important to take a moment to celebrate the people who are the boots on the ground, doing real work and driving real change at the grassroots level through their contributions. It is also important to understand that these people didn't come from only the echelons of society, or from a certain background or privilege, but rather, that they are just like the rest of us. Who knows, maybe in one of these stories, you'll find yourself reflected too.
Watch Season 2 of Badlaav Humse Hai for more stories like this one. You may also catch up on all the wonderful stories from Season 1.
Moneycontrol Journalists were not involved in the creation of the article.
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