CHENNAI: Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium saw a hustle of activity as the track was prepared for an athletic event. As each group of participants walked by holding hands, led by a teacher, it was clear that this was not a regular track competition.

With events such as balloon bursting, ball rolling and assisted walking, this was a special athletic event for differently-abled children, Vegam 2016, organised by Chennai Social Service. “We started Vegam event in 2011, with the idea to give differently-abled children a chance to exhibit their talent,” said Anand Rajmohan, spokesperson for the event, and member of Chennai Social Service. “We started with around 100 participants, and now we have close to a 1,000 spread across 152 events.”

As a group of kids walked past and cheered them, Anand explained, “This is what we aim for. Whenever people picturise differently-abled children, they imagine them sitting idle, or alone. But we wanted to bring them out, give them a chance to compete, and enjoy themselves.”

Due to the nature of their disabilities, there was no regular track event; instead, modified and fun events were organised to engage the children and their parents. “We had balloon bursting, a race for children on wheelchairs with their parents pushing them, assisted walking, ball gathering and so on,” said Anand. Each event was divided into separate categories depending on the disabilities — mild, moderate or severe. Several schools and organisations including Arvind Foundation, Deepam Special School, Maithree School and others, participated with their wards.

“This is the third time we are participating. We came overall third last year,” beamed Ramesh, a member of Arvind Foundation, who aims to win the overall prize this year.

Many participants and their parents seemed enthused by the event, “This is the first time my son and I are participating,” smiled Ramkumar, whose son suffers from Down Syndrome. “I just wanted him to enjoy and take part in a few events. It is amazing to see the response,” he added.

Competing with almost 45 schools in Vegam 2016, Little Flower Convent for the Visually Impaired bagged the first place overall. Of course, there were also prizes for first, second and third places as well. “For us, everyone is a winner,” Anand added

Source: http://www.newindianexpress.com/cities/chennai/Kids-with-disability-turn-torch-bearers-in-the-city/2016/07/18/article3534109.ece