Overcoming the odds

"We are often accused of being frauds. Many people think we must have some ulterior motives in helping the disabled, as we have not disabled ourselves. But I would like to tell our differently-abled brothers and sisters, we are the biggest challenge in front of you,” said Mizanur Rahman.

He added: “We want to change our generation, those who will one day be the policymakers of the country. If the mindset of one generation can be changed, there won't even be much need for advocacy regarding the people with disability."

Mizanur Rahman (Kiron), founder and present president of the Physically-Challenged Development Foundation (PDF), was narrating the stories of the people with disability and the initiative of the foundation to Prothom Alo recently.

The foundation has nurtured a vision since 2008 of creating a disabled-friendly society, first making educational institutions, especially the ones for the youths, conducive for the physically challenged people.

The PDF began with the university admission process for the physically challenged. Committees headed by the PDF have been formed in 13 government and private universities so far, run by both physically able and disabled students. Members of the committee receive no gratuity.

The PDF members deposit certain amount, instead. There are also PDF volunteers at home and abroad.

Mizanur Rahman said, "Our team spirit is our greatest achievement. Despite so much of preoccupations, everyone makes time for this. They are working and bringing about significant positive changes.”

As a result fo the efforts by the PDF and other organisations, a one percent quota is being reserved for the physically challenged people in the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations.

Brac University has pledged to make its campus disabled-friendly when the university will be housed on its own campus.

University students research on various topics and so competitions have been organised at a university level for research on issues pertaining to the physically-challenged.

Jahangirnagar University has increased its quota for the physically challenged students.

Students of private universities had less understanding of the physically disabled people and so the PDF has organised a "summer challenge" to increase their awareness. Private university students are taken to the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) where they spend the whole day and mingle with the physically challenged people and become familiar with them. Then after working the year round, one of the teams is given an award. This creates awareness among the students.

A student of a private university called to say his mother had died, Mizanur Rahman informed this author. The student wanted to do something for his mother from a religious point of view. He said he wanted to help in the education of a physically challenged student. He felt that such a deed would give his mother's soul eternal peace.

It is not just lip services for the physically challenged. In 2012, Mizanur Rahman married Suraiya Akhter, the first visually impaired student at Jahangirnagar University. The university would admit the physically challenged students, but not the blind. The PDF carried out advocacy in this regard. In 2011 the university took an admission test for 17 visually impaired students and only Suraiya Akhter came out successful. Suraiya Akhter and one of her sisters have a certain nerve disability and their blindness is not apparent from the outside. Suraiya can see hazily in the daylight, but not at all on cloudy days or inside.

Mizanur Rahman had to fight with his family to marry Suraiya. He is the first member of his family to go to university and so his family actually has a lot of faith in him.

Mizan and Suraiya have a 10-month-old boy.

"Suraiya's eyesight is like electricity coming and going. Sometimes she can see and then everything goes dark. Our son is growing up. One day he was running around and Suraiya tried to catch him. But she accidently fell on him instead. Another day he fell off the bed. Or when she's cooking, she can't find the salt. These are minor problems which anyone can help her with," Mizanur Rahman said.

He has studied history at Jahangirnagar University. He works as a senior social communicator at Brac's advocacy department.

Mizanur Rahman went on saying: "An athlete of BKSP fell down and hurt himself badly. He became disabled. After he was admitted into the university, I had the responsibility of assisting him as I was the captain. One day he took me to a programme of Valerie N Taylor (founder of CRP). That was the first time I came to know about her. After the programme, Valerie gave us a lot of time. She said, 'I am providing treatment to the physically challenged, but I am unable to create public awareness. It is imperative to build this awareness, particularly among the youth.' I was so inspired by Valerie's words that I first started a committee in my own university. Then we got the other universities involved."

The lighthouse vision

The PDF visualises that the physically challenged people in society will be able to avail various services according to their needs, simply by tapping certain numbers. There will be a data bank about jobs and other matters for the disabled.

Through education, training and other means, they will be groomed at skilled human resources.

This will be down through a 'lighthouse'. This lighthouse will show the path to everyone.

Already scholarships are being given to the students with disability as assistance coming from various people. A physically challenged premium league cricket tournament is also being organised nowadays.

Since 16 December last year, the PDF has begun a campaign to render all campuses disabled-friendly.

The PDF is still a movement. It has no specific donors or donor agency. So the members are constantly trying to raise funds. The PDF wants to take up project work in the future for smooth operations and implementation of its objectives.