Forging a bond with special children
Young speak
By Mallika Sarkaria

The whistle has blown,
And off they go,
Some are fast while some are slow.
They all do their very best
And to their determination & courage
This is the ultimate test.
These are our heroes of today,
Those who in these games play,
These are the people who are special, in every way!

AND all these special people by their talk and gestures seemed to say the same thing — ‘come be my friend’. I am writing about the special athletes who were in the city some time back for the 3rd National Olympic Games. These are the games for the mentally-handicapped people. Last time these games were held in Bangalore and now the City Beautiful had the privilege of hosting them. Vivek High School, along with some other schools of the city, had volunteered to help in the games. I was one of the volunteers.

If I am ever given a chance to relive a certain experience, it would be these special Olympics. Those five days sure were hard work. We did get baked in the sun but more than anything, it was fun. I must admit, at first all of us were quite wary of interacting with these people. Our apprehensions were soon waived aside as we warmed up to them because of their friendly manner. From ‘special people’ they became special friends. I remember the first day when Christopher Sir, (one of the organisers from Bangalore) said "go on, shake hands and make friends". He was asking us to introduce ourselves to some special officials from Bangalore. They were the winners of the last Special Olympics.

All that was fine, but weren’t these people, well, "dangerous"?

The answer is "no".

Most of us have very fixed views about these people. We feel that they, because of their abnormalities, are social outcasts. How many of us have ever interacted with them? It was a pity, that even though the City Beautiful had this lovely opportunity, to host these games, there were few locals to watch and cheer these athletes. However, there are also many people like Mrs Chander Mohan, who was one of the officials, who kept us all on our toes. It’s important that we realise the special qualities that these people possess, only then can we actually help them and reach out to them.

We met a variety of people from different states of India. Some even came from different countries like Taiwan and Philippines. They all had a lot in common — the perseverance, the urge to do something noteworthy and above all those charming friendly smiles.

As teenagers, we all are very choosy about our friends. We are very particular about whom to associate with and who we would like to be seen with. We decide about people on the basis of the clothes they wear, how they speak, where they hang out, the music they listen to and suchlike factors. After I met these special people I realised that all this did not matter and how trivial these things are. The essence of friendship is the "inside stuff". That’s why I’m proud of my friends. I’m proud of the fact that we made friends with them in the first place.

"So how different are they from you?" asked Christopher Sir one day. We had interacted with these special people for some time. All of us agreed that they were "not very" different. As he said "These people are very vulnerable, if someone gives them a gun and says shoot, most of them will shoot". He asked us if it gave us satisfaction to work with these people. Of course it did. "That’s why we are all here, right? Taking leave from our jobs — coming all this way — just to help", he said.

"A little help will go a long way. They don’t need your pity, they need your hands to hold and your footsteps to follow" said Williams, another organiser from Bangalore, in his speech during the opening ceremony. How true, I now feel, how true.

My friends were of different ages, with varying aims and interests. If Hussain liked gardening, Gayatri liked letter-writing. John had even won the Sonia Gandhi National Award for painting. (In this competition he had competed with normal people). Knowing them was an interesting experience. I interacted with some of them for not more than 20 minutes, whereas I met others many times a day. A bond was forged.

Their victory was ours too and we also shared their sorrows. Taking the proud winners to the victory stand, made us proud also. I remember, a girl even after being the first one to reach the finishing line, did not cross it. She just stood around and gazed as she did not understand the importance of that last step. It was at times like these that I saw the difference between them and us. Later when I took her to the pavilion, I was quite upset. Her coach had to tell me "it is okay, hota hai".

Another time, a boy, twice my size, who I had to escort back to the pavilion cried all the way back as he had lost. And the whole way he clung to my hand, as if gaining strength from it! That’s why these games are extra special.

These people accept their problem. As one of my friends, John Mathews, said "Parents of special children must realise the special needs of their children. They must send them to the special schools. Trust me, it helps. It changes our world". These people want to improve themselves. They have taught us a lot. We exchanged addresses with many of them. I hope I can keep in touch. These people certainly don’t need our pity. If anything, they need our help to let them walk besides us. They need our friendship which the greatest relationship of all that we can forge with these special people.

I would like to conclude by saying

Come be friend,
That should be the message we all send.
Let’s make sharing a trend,
And let us to each a hand lend
Let us help one and all,
So that none of us will fall!