It is the desire of every individual in
this universe to perform some extraordinary task. People try their best to do
best things or acts during their life. It is normally said that it is a great
conquest for any man to perform extraordinary acts, but this thing becomes more
important when this is done in the major disability. There are various person in
the history of mankind who performed extraordinary tasks despite of major
disabilities when some one with a disability is able to overcome all the
hardships of life then it becomes legend and golden history. We shall overcome
born without arms, Riaz Ahmad mastered using his feet to study and became a
schoolteacher in his village. In strife-torn Poonch, a valiant teacher whose
life is a powerful lesson in itself Born without arms, Riaz Ahmad has taken into
his feet, literally, the responsibility of shaping future generations. Defying
innumerable challenges, the 32-year-old teacher imparts valuable life lessons to
children in the strife-torn border district of Poonch, nestled in the mighty Pir
Panjal range. His family in Narol Sinkhatta village, 15km from Mendhar tehsil,
did not allow Riaz’s birth defect to overshadow his life, despite the struggles
of growing up with a severe disability in an area which is not only
geographically tough but also ravaged by militancy. He does all his daily life
works with feet.Such as: shaving, combing, eating. Moreover he uses his feet
while using mobile phone.” No one was bothered about the development of Jammu &
Kashmir state, forget the rights of a disabled person,” says Ahmad’s father. He
put a pen between the child’s toes and motivated him to write. Ahmad practiced
hard and began to excel at it. He has not looked back since. He studied up to
high school in Narol. “Not a single school was disabled-friendly. In this hilly
region, I had my share of difficulties moving around but no obstacle was bigger
than my will to overcome it,” says Ahmad.He was a voracious reader and soon
began studying for a degree. He married in 2003 and, with the support and care
of his wife Shahida (name changed on request), spent seven years studying to
qualify for the post of a government schoolteacher. “In 2008, his name appeared
in the list of permanent teachers. Our prayers were finally answered,” says
Shahida, now a mother of two children.” He has been teaching in these school for
eight years... We are very satisfied with his work,” says Mussarat Shah, the
school head. There are 8 lakh physically challenged people in J&K, according to
a recent research by Javed Ahmad Tak, the founder of Zeba Aapa Institute for
Inclusive Education. There are several State- and Centre-sponsored schemes to
promote equal opportunities and rehabilitation of physically disabled people,
but real progress is possible only when people with special abilities are
accorded their rightful space in life.” All it requires is a human touch to
every welfare scheme launched for physically disabled people,” says Ahmad’s
father.