HYDERABAD: The children smiled as they sprinted as fast as the wind — they were free, strong, and unstoppable just like the tri-colour balloons that had been set free into the skies just a few moments before the inauguration of the sports day at the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (NIEPID), Bowenpally.
Organised by the Young Indians (Yi) Hyderabad team, the sunny winter morning saw 1,400 children with developmental disabilities thoroughly enjoying themselves while partaking in an array of sports, all while 200 parents proudly looked on.
Yi Hyderabad went the extra mile, ferrying students from 20+ schools in and around Hyderabad. The Yi Hyderabad team - Yi Accessibility chair Ashish Kumar Sonthalia, co-chairs Shrey Agrawal, Tanish Agrawal, Karthik Agrawal, Smaran Kejriwal, and Rohit Binjrajka, Heath Vertical co-chair Deepa Deendayal, Yi Hyderabad chair Ashwin Agrawal, Yi Hyderabad co-chair Poonam Agrawal, Yi Hyderabad past chair Shivani Loya, social media chair Wasim Baig, social media co-chair Aditya Vikram Kankani, Yi Rural chair Arjun Kedia and co-chair Nikhil Baheti, Yi Climate chair Ashmi Shah, Yi Road Safety chair Purnima Saraf, Yi Innovation co-chair Meghana Reddy, Yi members Ruchika Agrawal and Gyan Gupta, and Hanaa Baig - was completely in the groove of sports day, keeping a track of events, handing snacks, and cheering for every child on the field.
There was 100 m sprinting, lemon and spoon race, shot put, bocce, balancing book, tug of war, musical chairs, and more — in short, it was a morning of complete fun!
Manjula, whose son is a child with developmental disabilities, expressed, “How nice it is to have such an event! My son enjoyed it and I met many other parents — it gave me a sense of community and support.” Her nine-year-old, Shashank, munching on a chocolate, chimed in, “I love running really fast!” Heartwarming is an understatement to describe it all.
NIEPID principal Ganesh Sheregar said, “Yi has done a fantastic job organising a sports day programme at NIEPID. This enabled the children to show their abilities. Most importantly, they had some movement. If they are physically active, they will be mentally happy as well. I feel happy to see all these children shine.”
The children who won proudly stood on the podium as Yi members garlanded them with gold, silver, and bronze medals, also giving them certificates and stationery kits. But every participant went home with a chocolate box, symbolising that every child is important and truly valued.
The Yi Hyderabad Accessibility team were all there to make sure every single child was well cared for and safe. The Yi Hyderabad Accessibility chair Ashish said, “Our focus through the initiative ‘Ability beyond Disability’ was to promote ability in children with intellectual disabilities as this is a space the government has not strongly ventured into yet.
Transporting 900+ kids for the sports day is our way of telling their parents that we are there for them — every child is a star.” He further added, “People talk about science, AI, and great developments but why isn’t our world taking care of these kids? We want members all over the country and across the world to contribute and enrich the lives of those with developmental disabilities. Even if they can make one contribution like this in a month, they can make a huge impact in making our world a better and more acceptable place.”