CHENNAI: When she was one-and-a-half years old, Sujatha fell from her cradle. The toddler, who had started walking before she was one, couldn’t move her legs anymore.
Hit by a sudden bout of fever, she was rushed to the hospital by her parents where she was diagnosed with polio, disabling her for life.
Sitting atop her metal grey moped, K Sujatha, fondly known as Sujatha akka, says, “I have survived a large part of my life with the help from many compassionate people and I feel I must do the same for people around me.”
The 43-year-old has put her 85% benchmark disability behind, turning into a disability rights champion and advocate. Her organisation, ‘Development Forum for Women with Disability’ aims to instil self-reliance among fellow disabled women.
Her journey from dependency to self-reliance and finally, to community empowerment began in 2017, when hit with an unforeseen circumstance in life. Sujatha and her entire community had to resettle from Thousand Lights, where they grew up, to Perumbakkam. She soon realised that she should help her fellow disabled people in the area as their pension was cut off for a year due to a change of address before reapplying. She worked hard to reinstate it.
“People from across the slum boards in the city have relocated to Perumbakkam. When I moved here, the entire area was ghettoised with no amenities and access to opportunities. It is by then, that I decided to work for the welfare of people in Perumbakkam,” says Sujatha.
Since then, she has been consistently working for the welfare of children’s education and self-reliance for women. “Education is the field which needs urgent intervention. We cannot keep lamenting about lack of opportunities forever. Instead, we must start working with whatever is in hand,” she adds.
According to her, there was a lack of awareness about the Right to Education (RTE) among parents. Sujatha pulled in volunteers and created awareness about the RTE, successfully enrolling children in the neighbouring schools.
“It’s tough for the disabled to find jobs, and our kids don’t have scholarships. But I managed to get Rs 2 lakh worth of scholarships for 10 college students, all children of disabled parents,” she says.
Located far away from the city, the unsafe situation of women and the need to take care of children hindered economic opportunities for many women in Perumbakkam. Sujatha took on a mission to empower such women. She organised training and workshops for women to gain exposure to self-employment opportunities.
“Many women got trained in self-employment like tailoring. Additionally, with the help of NGOs, they were given opportunities to earn as well,” she shares.
She has also mobilised funds to get vehicles for Persons with Disabilities in Perumbakkam. “Dependency is the major factor hindering the progress of women. So, women, especially those with disabilities should have independence in mobility and finance. Empowering a woman means empowering the family, a generation at large,” she concludes.