Baljeet Kaur, better known as Sweety Bagga by her friends is national wheelchair basketball player.
37 years ago, her life changed significantly, when she met with a fatal accident which confined her to wheels. She was a young, bubbly girl, full of life, dreams and aspirations bit all dashed after an accident. The accident shattered not only her dreams but her spine as well and she turned into an SCI (Spinal Cord Injury). SCI lose the sensation and power in both the lower limbs and loose bowel and bladder control as well.
Sweety went into depression for some time but recovered due to support from her family. This was a long and tough journey for her. She was a tough woman and was not willing to give up. The accident broke her SPINE, but not her SPIRIT.
Today, Sweety plays Basketball and run marathon. She has done daring sports activities like Paramotoring and Scuba Diving as well which many of us wouldn’t dare to do. She learnt Swimming at the age of 55 and proved that age is just a number.
Sweety says that “age cannot be a bar to learn anything new if you have the will and determination to do so. One may be surprised how can a wheelchair user play sport. But with practice, you can master the any art”.
Sweety says “back in 80's and 90's, when she first came out of her house on a wheelchair, many gave her weird looks as if she is an alien. Somebody even commented that is it necessary to go out? You are already shattered due to injury and whatever left is crushed by society. But I just ignored their words and was bold enough to face the society”.
Sweety says “’she realised there are so many people who are not as fortunate as her”.
“They are morose, despondent, given up in life, cloistered in the four walls of their houses, because they don't have opportunity, don’t have finances or their family has reconciled to the fact that he/she is going to remain this way for life”.
She says “her family never considered her as a liability or a burden”.
Seeing many who need help, Sweety decided to form an NGO by the name IamPossAble from the slang I'mpossible proving that nothing is Impossible in life when you have the grit and determination to do so.
She started guiding people to go for rehabilitation, counsel them, and do home visits as well.
IamPossAble conducts annual meets every year.
Through IamPossAble many rallies and roadshows are organized to sensitize the society. They donate wheel chairs, tricycles too.
Sweety says that her motto was and is, "The problems that she suffered, the trauma that she underwent, no SCI should suffer".
Sweety states that people always see disability and wheel chair through a lens of sympathy.
But NO, we don't need Sympathy.
We only need Empathy.
We want the Government to make everything wheel chair accessible...schools, colleges, hotels, malls and washrooms as well. We want Diversity in Inclusion.
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19 сен 2024
