Tag Archives: Kerala

Day 1930: Kerala’s disability policy

Great policies mean nothing unless they are implemented properly – that’s what I want politicians to realize

 

It’s 9: 27 PM on day 1834 of my journey towards independence and day 26 of our India trip 2015 prayed, read 1 Corinthians 15 and had breakfast.

 

A few days ago I read Kerala’s disability policy and it’s great (on paper) disabled people here have the right to work and all public buildings have to be accessible only most of them are not and I have yet to see a differently-abled person working in the 26 days that I’ve been here…policies that are great on paper but useless in real-life are of no use to anyone. To the Chief Minister of Kerala Oommen Chandy: Please make sure that all pre-existing and new buildings in Kerala that have stairs also have lifts or ramps and also make sure that all differently-abled kids in Kerala go to school.

Day 1906: Arrived in India

The journey is more important than the destination but it feels good to get to the destination– that’s what I’ve realized.

 

It’s 3 : 45  PM on day 1816 of my journey towards independence and day 2 of our India trip 2015 we arrived at our destination and spent time with family,

 

Today at 8: 45 AM (Indian time) three plane rides and a day later we arrived in Kerala. Thanks so much to South African Airways and Emirates Airlines who took great care of me and my family (I felt like a celeb me and my family hardly ever had to wait in line at any time during our journey [because I’m a “special passenger”] it was awesome).

Day 355

Be careful what you wish for
cause you just might get it all
you just might get it all and then some you don’t want.
– Chris Daughtry

It’s 7: 12 PM on day 355 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to brush my teeth, feed myself toast, chicken nuggets and scrambled eggs for breakfast, tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign – no luck – listen to music, feed myself rice and curry for lunch, go with my father to drop my mother, brother and sister at different places, cry for a while– my mom asked my dad to carry something for her into the building that she was going into, he said no, she said if any other woman had asked you would do it and before I knew it he was lunging at her (Note to mom and dad: mommy if you have problems go see a psychiatrist I can’t be your confidant and dad I will no longer go above and beyond to protect your reputation if you choose to behave in this manner you have to be willing to deal with the consequences) – go with my father to fetch my mother, brother and sister from different places, tweet about my campaign some more–still no luck I tweeted facts about water to achieve objective #2 of my campaign to highlight the plight of those who don’t have easy access to water– feed myself an avocado sandwich for dinner and brush my teeth once more.

Last summer I wanted so badly to go to India for my cousin’s wedding and now that it’s been decided that we are going this summer I don’t know what to feel because I know that it’s going to be hard for me when I get there not just in terms of accessibility but also in terms of my father and just people in general – my father rarely takes me anywhere here in South Africa where people are exposed to and educated about disabilities I wonder how he’s going to act when we get to his home state of Kerala where people have little or no exposure to people who are different. Have you ever wished for something and got it only to wish that you had never wished for it in the first place?

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If you’ve given to my cause or you can’t give now, please help me by sharing my cause with others. You can tweet about it like my friend Stan Faryna. This is the tweet he uses: @Nisha360 is a brave, smart young woman trying to make a better world for us all. Please help her do an amazing thing. http://bit.ly/hC7vOu

Stan’s very sweet for saying so, but feel free to write what reflects you best.

Thanks to all my friends out there who are helping me make my dream come true: to make a better world for all of us!

Day 146

There comes a time in everybody’s life where you have to decide that people are going to treat you with dignity and respect or not at all – that’s what I learned today 🙂

It’s 9: 38 PM on day 146 of my journey towards independence and I’ve managed to continue reading The Last True Cowboy by Kathleen Eagle,   brush my teeth, feed bun and baked beans for breakfast, played host to our family members who came for the prayer in memory of my grandfather – it is annually event that takes place usually of the anniversary of my grandfather’s death but this year we postponed it for two days because everybody’s had prior commitments on the actual day – we are Jacobites [pronounced yacobites] – one of three denominations of Christianity in Kerala – our place of origin – and as such we believe that it is necessary for us to pray for the souls of the deceased in order for them to be accepted through the gates of Heaven –  tweet about my Clean Water For All Campaign for a few hours – somebody – you know you are –  promised to make a donation   – I am SO happy 🙂 –  feed myself rice and curry  for dinner and exercise for 10 minutes.

Today I was lying on the bed minding my own business when my mother waltzes in and announces that we – all five of us – might be going to India in June or December and in that moment I suddenly had a flashback to a few months ago when I BEGGED my  father with tears eyes to take me to my cousin’s wedding in India and when I finally snapped out of it I realized that my father was my father so long as he didn’t have to be seen with me and I knew I deserved more than that so I decided to sever my relationship with him before it eroded my whole heart. Do you put up with disrespect from those you love because you want them to be a part of your life? 🙂