Physical limitations don’t stop Ajith Kumar from dreaming big
Though a polio attack had kept Ajith Kumar bedridden until the age of 18, he did not give up on dreaming. Despite his physical limitations, the 46-year-old, who hails from Vandanam in Alappuzha, was recently able to strike another goal from his to-do list: driving a car. Modifying his car to fit his wheelchair as a driving seat, Ajith was able to drive all the way to Kanyakumari with his family.
“I’m living with around 90% deformity. The body below my waist is fully paralysed. I was unable to walk or live without the help of other people for a long time. But my motto is not to trouble anyone. It is this determination that helped me achieve this goal,” Ajith Kumar said.
This determination was moulded on the anvil of life experiences. The son of fisherfolks, Ajith was witness to how hard his parents worked to take care of him when he was young. When he turned 18, he decided to do what little he could to help. “I started doing various jobs - umbrella making, pen making, cleaning lotion making, and even managed a coffee vending shop inside Alappuzha Medical College Hospital. With the income I got, I purchased a two-wheeler which had a supporting wheel to move handicapped persons. It was my enabler for many years,” Ajith Kumar said.
In 2021, he decided to buy a car. “I contacted the engineers of my locality and fitted the vehicle with an automatic ramp to wheel myself into the driving seat. In 2022, we made the journey to Kanyakumari. It was yet another goal to travel on the beach sand. This was made possible,” he added.
Now that Ajith is able to move about, it has enabled his wife, Sunitha, to find work at a local stitching unit. This additional income has helped bolster their living conditions. If this determination isn’t inspiring enough, Ajith is also the coordinator of blood donors in Alappuzha. For the past decade, he has been instrumental in ensuring that those who require blood in the district get connected to donors. There are many more goals left on Ajith’s to-do list. Of them, finishing schooling is what tugs at Ajith’s heartstrings the most.
“I could not attend school until the age of 18 on account of my health and financial constraints. Later, I joined the equivalency examination of Kerala State Literary Mission to continue my studies and completed class seven. However, to continue my education and appear for the class 10 examination, I need to produce a birth certificate. I was born in a government hospital in Thrikkunnapuzha, but there’s no document that proves the case. This is hindering the issuing of my certificate,” Ajith Kumar said.