’Cos Disability does not mean inability!

It was a sight to behold as more than 40 physically challenged Hyderabadis turned up to take part in a rock climbing event at

Khajaguda

on Saturday morning. Titled

#EverydayAbility

, the event was organised with the aim of encouraging people with disabilities to embrace adventure sports and proving that disability is not an impediment to adventure.
The event saw participants taking part in trekking, rappelling and rock climbing with gusto and send out a message that one can overcome physical impairments and lead a full and productive life. “I am super thrilled to take part in this event, and I have no words to express my joy. This is the first time in my life that I got a chance to take part in rappelling, though I have trekked with the help of some friends in my school days. Initially, I was a little scared but volunteers tied the equipment to my body helped me balance myself. After rappelling a distance of 100 ft, I feel like I have achieved something phenomenal and now nothing can stop me from reaching goals in life," said

B Amarender Reddy

, a visually challenged student from Osmania University.
Echoing similar sentiments,

Prasanna Aliga

, an amputee said, “I had a great time with other participants as I trekked and climbed rocks. We need more such events in the city to show that disability is not at all a hindrance, if you have the will to overcome it. It was heartening to see so many disabled people enthusiastically attending the event.”
The event, which was organised by the NGO, Adventures Beyond Barriers Foundation, sure managed to dispel some commonly held misconceptions about the physically challenged.
“The objective of the event was to build empathy and change the perceptions of the society about the disabled. The event had persons with various disabilities like amputees, visually challenged and polio affected coming together and taking part in trekking, hiking, rappelling and revelling in fun and frolic,” said founder of the NGO, Divyanshu Ganatra.