SPEECH BY HER EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT OF INDIA, SHRIMATI PRATIBHA DEVISINGH PATIL, AT THE SILVER JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS OF TAMANA ASSOCIATION

New Delhi, 19th December, 2009

Ladies and Gentlemen,

and Dear Children,

It is a special occasion for me, as I participate in the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of the Tamana Association. I take this opportunity to applaud the work done by this organization over the last twenty five years in providing opportunities for education and holistic development to children with special needs. Seeing how these children work and perform only reaffirms the immense capacity of the human spirit to overcome obstacles and difficulties.

I consider this a privilege to interact with such amazing individuals today which happens also to be my birthday. In my own life, I often recall the hard work and the effort that was required while working first as a lawyer and then in public life. Throughout this time, it was the values of perseverance and commitment that have been my guide. Moreover, there was always hope that the future held the promise of progress and prosperity for the people of India and for the nation. Indeed, it is eternal hope that is a driving force in a human being's life. It generates optimism and faith in their ability to face challenges.

I am encouraged when I see hope in the eyes of the children present here. This has been possible because of the hard work and patience of all those working with them. It is important that from a very early age the concerns of the children with special needs are identified and efforts made to work-out appropriate strategies. These children should be imparted training and given skills which would help in their economic independence and rehabilitation in society. The entire objective is to make them self-sufficient and self-reliant individuals who can pursue a career or a vocation.

In fact, there should be no goal that is unattainable or any objective that cannot be achieved. There have been many examples, where with great resolve and will power, differently- abled persons have been able to overcome the constraints of impairment. Tom Whittaker climbed Mt. Everest with a prosthetic leg in 1998. It was a big accomplishment. Beethoven, one of the most acclaimed music composers of all times, lost his hearing when he was just 26 years old. He did not allow this to come in the way of composing some of the greatest music in the world. Infact, Beethoven was completely deaf, when he composed his Ninth Symphony, considered as one of his greatest masterpieces of all times. Professor Stephen Hawking, who when diagnosed with motor neuron disease, was first disturbed, but soon realized that there were "a lot of worthwhile things" he could do. He went on to become an academic celebrity writing many papers, books and publications in the field of cosmology and quantum gravity including on black holes. I am sure that many among you have the ability to overcome the impediments of disability and also to be innovative and creative.

Today, as I saw special children working on the computer, I was impressed with their capacities and their talents. I am sure that they would go on in life to become people who would be a motivation for others. I would be amiss if I do not mention Tamana, who is the inspiration of this organization. Today, she is herself a teacher, as well as a spokesperson for International Special Olympics. She has demonstrated that overcoming adversity, while a difficult task, is no barrier to making contributions to society and to the welfare of others.

The role played by family, especially parents, is critical in providing the necessary encouragement to the special child. It also means that their own lives have to become a mission. Societal attitudes in this regard are extremely important. Civil society and NGOs can play a very bridging role in this regard. At one level, they must work towards creating facilities that give full opportunities to persons with special needs to develop and at another level; they must create awareness in society to treat the differently abled as normal children. They should bring to the public area the experiences and the success stories of differently abled persons.

All efforts should be directed towards the full integration of such persons in society. Apart from ensuring that assistive devices are available easily and at affordable prices, Science and Technology must be used for the development of more user friendly systems for empowerment, rehabilitation and integration efforts. While speaking at the National Awards for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities on 3rd December this year, I had spoken about the importance of education and skill building in this regard. Children with special needs should have access to education in an environment and format that caters to their needs, including material in accessible format and barrier free schools. The success of educational programmes for the impaired will depend on getting many more of them into school and making it a learning experience for them. Here, I am reminded of Helen Keller who was the first deaf and blind persons to earn a Bachelor's degree in 1904. She was greatly assisted by her teacher, who taught her how to communicate. Keller went on to become an activist for many progressive causes in the world, including women's suffrage, and workers' rights. She understood the importance of human emotions and famously said, "the best and the most beautiful things in the world can not be seen, nor touched... but are felt in the heart." Today, as I speak to you deeply from my heart, I want to convey my very best wishes to you for success and for progress in life. I am confident in the ability of each one of you to be brave in life, live with dignity and to bring joy to those around you.

I also convey my very best to the Tamana organization as it continues its work in achieving what it visualizes - to set up a research and technology center, set up a corpus fund which will provide a myriad of training and employment opportunities for its special students and to develop an aftercare facility that will step-in to constructively support the child when required. As I am completing seventy-five years today, I am donating Rs. 75,000 to this corpus fund, so that it can achieve its objectives.

With these words I once again wish all of you the very best.

Thank you.

JAI HIND