Inspiring once again!

Came across this article in todays (25th August 2009) TOI, Mumbai. I am sure that many more than these examples would be there in India but can something be specifically be done for such kids?


Nothing can impair his zeal to study
13-Yr-Old Deaf-Mute Boy Travels 120 Km To Ahmedabad School, Is Class Topper
-Prashant Dayal

While the rest of the world was bursting crackers to celebrate Diwali, silence had descended on the home of signboard painter in Dhandhuka, Khurshid Hussain Malik. He had just realised that his son, the third of five children, was unaffected by the loudest crackers going off around him. While other children were scared, Jan Nisar did not even flinch. Malik took him to a doctor, who confirmed that his son suffered from hearing and speech impairment. Jan Nisar would never hear a sound or utter a word. Life was already hard, feeding a large family with his meagre earning and now he was saddled with a son who needed special attention.
That was nine years ago. Today, Jan Nisar is 13. And his father no longer sees him as a burden. “He was the source of maximum worry,” says Malik. “Now, he is a source of pride.” This transformation has been brought about by Jan Nisar’s zealous drive to overcome the silence around him through academic excellence. The lengths this boy goes to just to attend class can shame an able-bodied adult.
Jan Nisar leaves home at 8 am, boards a train and travels 120 km from Dhandhuka to Ahmedabad. He then treks 1.5 km on the railway tracks to reach his school and then catches a train back home. He has been doing this every day for the past four years. That is not all. He is among the top three rankers in his class.
Jan Nisar is admitted to the School For The Deaf-Mutes Society. Initially, he stayed at the school’s hostel but did not like the arrangement and convinced his father to allow him to commute between Dhandhuka and Ahmedabad. Malik agreed but railway officials refused to issue a pass for such a young boy. But such was his zest for studies that even the officials relented. Punjabhai Gamara, social worker from Dhandhuka, says, “This is the birthplace of Acharya Hemchandracharya who had a big role to play in spreading education in Gujarat. Little Jan Nisar seems to have taken inspiration from him.”