Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, March 29: The deaf, the dumb, the blind, people with physical disabilities and even those mentally challenged are learning tactics to survive in adverse conditions, to climb mountains, cross rivers, the art of conserving forests and many such other things considered to be in the domain of able bodied men and women.
They are taking part in a four-day jungle adventure camp organised by the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) of eastern region in association with the Chandaka Wildlife Division and SVH Deafblind of Kolkata, a not-for-profit organisation, at Chandaka Elephant Sanctuary, here. This adventure camp is meant only for persons with multiple disabilities.
The camp, First of its kind in this state, was inaugurated by the divisional forest officer, Chandaka, Manoj Kumar Mohapatra and Dr L A K Singh, a wildlife scientist. With a hope that such outdoor courses for the disabled would promote both, adventure and conservation of forests and wildlife, the organisers of the camp said, “We are in effect holding this camp to motivate the participants not only to keep faith in them but also be adventurous.”
Around 30 disabled trainees, comprising deaf, blind, visually impaired with additional disabilities and mentally challenged, in the 13 to 30 age group, are participating in the camp. Around 50 percent of the participants are female. Participants from Orissa, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal are undergoing trainings, which include learning tactics to survive in adverse condition, given by experts from the IMF and Society for the Visually Handicapped (SVH), Kolkata.
The camp also includes different adventure training such as, overcoming rope obstacles, climbing, rappelling, river crossing, gathering knowledge on nature and conservation of forests.
A 14-year-old girl from West Bengal, Rashmi Marudada, with multiple disabilities, is very enthusiastic about the camp. “It is a very interesting camp and I am learning lots of new and adventurous things. Today I tried rope walking, Burma bride and also participated in a rock-climbing session. All the three activities were very interesting; but I liked climbing the most. I love adventure and have participated in many such events in different parts of the country. I have attended many camps in West Bengal, Uttrakhand and Himachal Pradesh too,” she said.
“Participating in such activities make me realise that I can do anything; it motivates me to accept the challenges in life and to move ahead. And I think the support of my parents had made me a different person. They always inspire me and encourage me to participate in all kinds of adventurous activities. Apart from studies this is the only thing I like and will continue doing in the future too”, Rashmi said.
Joshna Rani Sahoo, a girl from Jajpur, who recently appeared in the Plus II examination from a blind School, was thrilled to take part in all the activities, which she did for the first time. “Being blind, we have a very limited scope; when I heard about the camp I immediately volunteered to be a part of this adventure camp. This is my first brush with adventure activities and so far whatever activities I did, I enjoyed a lot. But yes, at first I was scared as everybody in my school as also my relatives said that I won’t be able to do any kind of adventure activities. Now I feel happy that I have proved them wrong. ”
Speaking about the adventure camp and the motive behind conducting the camp, Sushanta Das, one of the organisers, said, “The idea behind conducting the camp is to prove that these participants are able like any other people. Through this camp we are trying our bit to bring them into the mainstream and to tell people not to neglect them”.