George K Thomas
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Wheelchair-bound George K. Thomas, 31, with spine injured in a road accident eight years ago, is undergoing a seven-month residential programme at Kanthari International at Vellayani to become a social innovator/entrepreneur. His dream is to provide electric wheelchairs to physically-challenged and to make the country wheelchair- friendly.
It was after
surpassing five hurdles in the form of various interviews that Thomas
was able to join the entrepreneurship programme at Kanthari
International founded by a German woman, Sabriye Tenberken and her
partner and a Dutch ‘social engineer’ and co-founder of Braille Without
Borders, Paul Kronenberg. Thomas, who runs an NGO, ‘Prayukti,’ to help
victims of road accidents, has so far been dependent on his parents for
moving around in his wheelchair.
“But since
coming here at Kanthari, I have realised that I have become more
self-reliant. Attending classes along with people belonging to the
margins and that too among 16 different nationalities has improved my
morale by leaps and bounds,” said Thomas who has designed a ramp as
part of his entrepreneurship programme.
Thomas
claims that his design will enable people like him to board the Venad
bus of KSRTC without folding the wheel chair. He and his classmates have
come up with a documentary highlighting their individual projects which
will be released in the coming days.
Thomas had
suffered severe damage to his spinal cord when his motor bike collided
with an autorickshaw close to his home in Nalanchira,
Thiruvananthapuram.
“There was just a slight cut
on my lower lip. But little did I realise that I will be a paraplegic
when the ‘good Samaritans’ picked me in all fours which damaged my
spinal cord permanently,” said Thomas, which shows how much ignorant
the public are when lifting an accident victim.
Source : Deccan Chronicle , 30th June 2013
I solute you, Mr. George K. Thomas. The effort he has put in even after being disabled himself is worth applause.
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