KOCHI: It was one of Mohammad Aasim P’s biggest wishes to swim in the river near his home. Though he was born without arms, a partially disabled right leg and partial hearing in one ear, Aasim was not ready to give up on that dream. The 15-year-old who joined swimming lessons this year crossed the Periyar on Thursday, after two weeks of training.
“I grew up near a river and always wanted to swim. I was able to cross the one kilometre-wide Periyar in an hour and one minute,” says Aasim, a native of Velimanna, Kozhikode. When asked if he was scared of the challenge, he says, “Isn’t everyone scared when they first try to swim”?
But as his training progressed, Aasim’s fear transformed into confidence. “While swimming across the river, I was excited. There were plenty of ripples, so water frequently fell on my face. The current was strong in some areas, but that was ok. I enjoyed every minute of it,” the young swimmer says.
Aasim swam along with his trainer Saji Valassery. Saji has been training kids with disabilities to swim across turbulent waters for many years now. “I got to know about Aasim from a newspaper article. I learned that he is 90 per cent disabled. I went to his home to meet him in 2016. However, his parents were initially scared of letting Aasim swim. But this year, they were finally ready. Aasim’s father brought him to Kochi for two months to help him train. They are staying in my home,” says Saji.
Saji trained Aasim alongside three other differently-abled people. For Aasim, Saji gave four classes every day. “Usually, I give one-hour training classes daily. For Aasim, I put in extra hours. Every day in the morning and evening, he trained two hours each. Within two weeks, he was ready. He is brave like that,” says Saji. So far, in 12 years, Saji has trained around 1,500 people.
Saji wants to train everyone in swimming to prevent drowning-related deaths. “These deaths are completely preventable if one knows how to swim. When people see Aasim swimming, I hope they find some inspiration to learn. That’s why I try my best to teach differently-abled kids. I want to show that swimming is a skill for everyone,” says Saji.
Aasim is still on cloud nine, even a day after he finished swimming across one of the deepest parts of the Periyar - from Advaithashramam Kadavu to Aluva Manappuram. “There is no need for differently-abled people to confine within the four walls of their homes. They should also grow up with everyone else in society, and be happy and active. I have started a foundation, Aasim Velimanna Foundation, to help differently-abled and other kids fight for their rights,” says Aasim.