Chayanika Roy (ID 9747)

After losing my mother at the age of 6 months, I was brought up by my grandparents. Growing up with an almost absent father and without a mother was difficult. Even though daily life was a struggle, I always valued the importance of education and formal training. Unfortunately, my academic journey was cut short since I married quite young and the next 25 years were spent looking after my family. The military life provided me with lots of exposure but very little opportunity to continue my education. With great effort and determination, I passed my Master’s in Literature as well as B.Ed. Special Education dealing with intellectually challenged children through distance learning. In those days, specially abled children were often neglected, socially shunned and ridiculed. As someone, who has battled to complete their education, it has been my belief that proper care and instruction can help rehabilitate these kids and bring them into the mainstream. And this hope to create a better support system and life for those on the margins made me strive to create change from top-down. To be frank, my career as a special educator and changemaker began at the ripe-old age of 47. I wanted to help specially abled children achieve a higher quality of life and made it my life’s mission. Gradually, my work was recognized, and I found my that I was able to inspire inclusivity in different schools through my methods. In 2016, I joined as the Director and Principal at the prestigious Akshya Pratisthan, which is one of the oldest schools in Delhi teaching equal numbers of abled and differently abled children. Today, I feel vindicated that my efforts have finally borne fruit and my work has been recognized not only by academia but also the Government of India through accolades and recognitions. When most people are struggling to rise up the ladders of success, I held the traditional role of a wife and mother. But I feel proud that I was able to establish my career at a later age and make a substantial contribution in this field of work. Every time, a student of mine is able to achieve even a small goal such as picking up a spoon to feed themselves, or recognise social cues, I feel like I am making a change. These achievements, whether large or small, drive me upwards and onwards.