Defying all odds

"Life is all about moving on and going with the flow, believes, Darshita Shah, a physically challenged social worker. She serves as an officer on special duty at Apang Manav Mandal and managing trustee of Darshu Care Public Charitable Trust, both in Ahmedabad. At 59, Darshita is actively aiding other physically challenged people and those in need, to bring their lives back on track. She gives hope to live, to thousands of needy people, providing free groceries, adaptive equipment and meals. This is her story of resilience, tenacity and benevolence"

For Darshita, her day begins with phoning sources to ensure that funds keep flowing and distribution of assistive devices, goes on for the physically challenged, before she heads to Apang Manav Mandal, to work as their officer on special duty. A person with a disability, she is actively works for making the lives of other physically challenged better. Diagnosed with polio in her early life, she never let the society to define her as physically challenged. Because of values her parents taught her while growing, she has been able to champion every endeavour in her life. “My father was strict regarding studies. I was in Std. X when he told me that only if I score above 60 per cent in my board exams, I can study further. This came as a motivation for me to study harder and I cleared my board exams scoring 63 per cent. To this day, I have used education as a tool to overcome life’s challenges,” said Darshita.

Pillars of support

Darshita was just three-month-old, when she was diagnosed with polio. Though a bit shaken by this condition, her parents lost no hope. They raised her equally alongside her three siblings. She pursued her school education through distance learning, and alongside developed skills in writing,singing and painting, just like any other child. “I did get special care, but my parents made sure I get equal treatment what my siblings received. They made me physically stronger and nurtured my creative side too,” she says.

“I was three-year-old, when the doctor told my parents that my treatment would come at a heavy cost. My father decided to leave his job and start a business, so he can earn more to pay for my treatment. It is only because of my parent's efforts, I am standing tall today,” she recalls.

Education—a lifeline

Since childhood, Darshita has given utmost importance to education. She was a bright student and a college topper. “I always wanted to become something and contribute in the welfare of society,” she says. When she lost her mother, her life took a different turn. “Losing my mother was devastating. I needed psychiatric help to get out of this pain. During this time, I my father stood as my pillar of support,” she said.

Darshita decided to accompany her father at his workplace, and started helping him with his office work. This became a daily routine after her physiotherapy sessions. “That’s when I started learning accounting work. I also started attending workshops and visiting NGOs, to better understand the lives of the physically challenged people.

During these visits, I understood the importance of learning, and I resumed my studies,” she adds.

To stay relevant in the fast-changing world, Darshita continued studying, and today she holds 23 qualifications including six master’s degrees, which include Master of Commerce twice (M.Com.), Master of Laws (LLM), Master of Business Administration (MBA), Master of Social Work (MSW) and Master of Computer Applications (MCA).

While earning multiple degrees, Darshita also blossomed as an artist. After her mother’s demise, she started painting, and writing poetry and short stories. Her paintings are exhibited in local and national art galleries and she actively participates in national and international painting exhibitions, held virtually. Her poems are published in local newspapers and she also participates in poetry events. She has also authored five literary books for visually impaired people in braille.

Finding her call

Working with Apang Manav Mandal was a turning point for Darshita. “I explored my aspirations to help the needy when I got involved in the social work there, caring for physically challenged children,” she says. Her eagerness to work for the needy and particularly, the physically challenged, turned her dream of establishing an NGO into reality. She established Darshu Care Public Charitable Trust in 2009.

For last 15 years, Darshita is solely managing her charitable trust. “My education has helped me a lot to to undertstand and find solutions to various issues—be it legal issues, raising funds, management issues, technological issues and so on. My learning continues, because I want to help more and more people,” she says. Besides her work at the charitable trust, she also helps the needy through Rotary Club of Ahmedabad Divyam and Lions Club of Ahmedabad Samvedana as their President.

Over a decade, Darshita has rehabilitated over 3000 physically challenged people and helped around 9000 needy. Her work reaches people through word-of-mouth and referrals. “Through my charitable trust, I rescue differently abled people, and help the homeless and needy. Earlier, I would personally visit companies to seek donations for the charitable trust. But now, I can do the same through social media platforms,” she explains. She uses her social media handles to distribute mobility aids and adaptive equipment to the physically challenged, which include wheelchairs, commodes and crutches.

"Through my charitable trust, I rescue differently abled people, and help the homeless and needy"

Darshita shah

Working for a better tomorrow

At present, Darshita is working on a project of creating a library of adaptive appliances, to ease the living of the physically challenged. To take this idea further, she also travels to remote and rural areas of Ahmedabad, helping physically challenged people to become self-reliant and live a dignified life. “I want to spread this project across Gujarat and help physically challenged persons live a distinguished life,” she affirms. Through this library, she provides free medical aid, educational assistance, grocery and appliances for physically challenged. “To reach maximum people, I also participate in different activities and innovative projects with various institutes. However, effective publicity comes from word-of-mouth,” adds Darshita.

Over the years, Darshita’s efforts have been recognised with 58 prestigious awards, including the President’s Award (India) 2013, the Woman's Pride Award 2015, and the Best Social Worker Award 2015, from the Governor of Gujarat.

Equal treatment for physically challenged people, as Darshita says, begins with self acceptance. She has urged families having a physically challenged person at their place, to raise them like a normal human being.

“Provide them support, treat them with equality, and acknowledge their disability in order to empower them,” she advises. “Once you accept your disability, society will too.

It is important for the society to take the initiative by providing appropriate facilities for the physically challenged people, such as accessible toilets, mobility aids, and most importantly, creating a healthy atmosphere.

People should accept the disabled and involve them in an inclusive atmosphere. Let the physically challenged people live full lives, and most importantly ensuring that they receive proper education,” signs off Darshita.