Hari
Devi, 25 years old is a resident of New Delhi. She grew up in a very supportive
environment in between friends and family. Born as a non- disabled girl, she was
pampered by her siblings in all possible ways.
At the age of 3 years, she suffered from high fever and was detected
with Polio Virus which resulted in making her body dysfunctional below the waist.
This was indeed shattering news for her
family. As advised by doctors she had to undergo surgery three times to regain
some movements in her lower limb.
Thereafter, she was recommended to wear leg brace on a daily basis.
Initially, she resisted it strongly as it was making her feel and appear
different from others. But gradually realized that this was the only way she could
move independently.
Her
family decided to keep her at home because they were concerned about her mobility.
However, her keen interest towards studies made her parents change their mind. Her
parents were very proud of her when she successfully completed her higher
secondary from Kendriya Vidyalya, R. K Puram with good grades. She still recalls
that moment when during sports period, she fell down due to imbalance and none
of her friends turned up for her help instead made fun of her and imitated the way
she walked. This was the first incident
when she realized that life is going to be really tough and being strong is the
only option left for her. But such incidents didn’t dampen her high spirits.
One
day, she received a call from SARTHAK about a training program under the
project called “Koshish” implemented by SAMBHAVA Foundation and got herself
enrolled in the training program. Right from the beginning she was very determined,
full of life and had a strong desire to become financially independent and
support her family like her brothers did. Gradually, she was often found expressing her
opinions and views very confidently to others. Indeed her vibrant smile and
motivational ideas inspired and influenced lives of many girls. Over the period of time, the training really
promoted her in developing more self confidence in speaking English language. She
got to know about the existing job opportunities in corporate sector. She
realized that the 3 months of training was instrumental in grooming her,
specifically in body language, dressing style and all the relevant skills and attitude
to crack the interview.
