Prutha Goa

On rare occasions you chance upon a personality who has the resilience and tenacity to make such a startling impact on you that you are forced to rethink your priorities and curb those pity parties you indulge in. Frederika Menezes is one such person. She amazes and stupefies you with her positivity in the face of what others would consider an incapacitating physical disability. Frederika has cerebral palsy, and remains in a wheelchair for the most part but her mind is razor sharp. Her parents, Angela and Jose are retired GPs and dote on Frederika. In some families this condition may have been deemed burdensome but it was not so for Frederika. She asserts she was not treated as a person with a disability as a child. She says, ‘I wasn't aware of what I could do or be so I just enjoyed the attention. To be honest, I was never treated different. Not really.’ Her alma mater is People’s High School, Panaji. She stresses the fact she attended regular school as there is also the School fo

Inclusivity has become the mantra for today, and individuals like Avelino de Sa and Frederika Menezes prove its significance by the heights they have achieved in spite of their disabilities. Avelino de Sa has already made a name for himself as the president of the Disability Rights Association of Goa (DRAG), constantly championing causes and programmes that will benefit the differently abled. Avelino was born with cerebral palsy but has surmounted his difficulty in walking by leading a relatively normal life. A Commerce graduate from Dempo College, Panaji, Avelino is also a certified investment and tax consultant with his own firm in Panaji. Under his presidency, DRAG has won the Godfrey Phillips Bravery Award for the year 2004-05 for Exceptional Act of Social Courage, and the Goa State Award 2007 for the Best NGO for the Welfare of the Disabled in Goa. Much of the changes in terms of accessibility for the differently abled that one sees in Goa have been brought about through the effor

The differently abled and the elderly suffering from mobility issues in Goa now have the encouragement and facility needed to cast their valuable and defining vote in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Ezy Mov, India’s first wheelchair accessible taxi service which was launched in Goa recently, will provide free accessible transport for wheelchair users in the Panjim Assembly Constituency for the Lok Sabha 2019 elections which will be held on 23rd April 2019 in Goa. This free service will enable wheelchair users to travel to the polling stations to cast their vote with greater ease. This transport facility has been provided by the office of the Chief Electoral Office Goa as part of accessible Lok Sabha elections 2019. This is the first time that the Election Commission of India has provided a free transport facility for persons with disabilities and the elderly. This provision is in place to ensure that no one is left behind without casting their vote as it will allow the differently abled

The differently abled now have a safe and comfortable mode of transport through a company called Ezy Mov ( www.ezymov.com ), India’s first transport company that caters especially to the differently abled and the elderly. The company, which is based in Mumbai, was established in 2015 thanks to co-founders Rrajesh Patil, Romeo Ravva and Bennet D'Cunha. Rrajesh Patil has been involved for over 15 years in taxi fleet and driver management, Romeo Ravva has a background in volunteering, event management, branding and communication, and Bennet D’Cunha comes from the healthcare consulting sphere. These three men have been instrumental in providing a means of exploring the world to the differently abled who were once banished to the seclusion of their homes because of the difficulty in obtaining a means of transport that would accommodate their disability. The company operates on the mission of providing the differently abled who have mobility concerns with the chance to ‘Travel with digni