From supporting children with disabilities to enabling sustainable travel: top SocialStories this week

People with disability have been constantly fighting for equal rights for years now. While some people still do not consider them equals, there are many individuals and organisations supporting them.

Perkins is one such global organisation that works with children with multiple disabilities and makes education and healthcare accessible to them. The Perkins team, which focusses on the overall development of children, also trains teachers and Asha workers and gets parents and the community involved in their efforts.

This week we also have Kerala-based Archana Vijayan, who was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy, sharing her journey of overcoming her disability and achieving her dream of becoming a doctor.

A 25-year-old’s quest for sustainable tourism with local flavours

Bengaluru-based Shreyas Danappa had a sheltered upbringing, and he had not travelled at all until he joined college. Before his final year, in 2017, Shreyas went on a solo trip to Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir, and Ladakh. He found the feeling of independence while travelling. And since then there has been no stopping for him.

To sustain his travel dreams, he tried his luck with gigs related to travelling, including freelance content writing, running a homestay in Sikkim, and teaching English to the monks at the monastery. In fact, Shreyas also got into the content creation space and was operating a travel-related YouTube channel.

Although he did not enjoy making content, he wanted to share his passion for travel with others. In 2021, Shreyas launched Map My Stories—a community-centric, immersive travel experience project—where he curates sustainable travel solutions from his personal travels.

Perkins India aims to make a difference in the lives of children with disabilities through health and education

Nine-year-old Ishan, from a village in Uttar Pradesh, was born with vision impairment and a learning disability. Although he was eager to learn new skills, there wasn’t any programme to cater to his special learning needs—until a Perkins-trained Anganwadi worker connected him to Perkins India.

The Perkins India team enrolled Ishan at a school in his village and also provided him access to healthcare. A special educator visited him once a week to help him learn all pre-academic skills such as colours, shapes, and counting. The educator essentially worked with the school’s teacher to understand Ishan’s needs and learning capabilities.

Today Ishan can learn and communicate with his community using sign language. Ishan is one of the many children whose lives Perkins India has touched in the state of Uttar Pradesh. The India division of the global not-profit organisation identifies children with disabilities and helps them with aid and access to healthcare, therapy, and education. Perkins India also trains teachers, Asha workers, and Anganwadi workers so that they can support the organisation in its efforts.

Education helped me overcome my disability

This week, in Survivor Series, we share the story of Archana Vijayan, who overcame her disability to become a doctor.

I am Archana Vijayan from Kerala. I was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at the age of two. I have often heard that it is considered difficult, if not impossible, for differently abled people like me to get a job in the medical field. However, since the time I can remember, I wanted to be a doctor.

My childhood days were very hard for me. I could not sit comfortably and had to go for regular physiotherapy. My father, a postman, used to pick up and drop me to school every day. My mother had to leave her job to care for me.

When I was in school, mobility was never an issue for me. My friends and teachers were also very supportive. Initially, they were reluctant to include me as one among them, but then, after I scored well in exams, they all started accepting me. So, education helped me a lot to overcome my disability.

Renewable methanol accelerating progress toward a carbon-neutral world

Today, the world is seeing unprecedented momentum to fulfil clean energy potential as several countries make ambitious efforts to achieve their net zero carbon goals.

Despite significant advances in the scaling up of renewable energy, it is imperative to look for immediate and sustainable solutions. A versatile energy product, methanol can play a crucial role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions when produced renewably. Carbon dioxide (CO2), treated as waste rather than a resource, can be recycled to produce low-carbon methanol.

Capturing CO2 emissions, hydrogenated with green or recovered hydrogen to produce methanol, offers decarbonising economies a sustainable fuel and chemical feedstock that accelerates the transition towards a carbon-neutral future and circular economies.