By Monika Kathuria:
I was teaching my class of toddlers at a school, which also has a wing for children with special needs, when the teacher in-charge called me and asked me to make an introduction video for two children who the school wanted to send for the special Olympics. Praveen is a Special Olympic gold medal winning athlete, who is also a national level football player, while Snehil is an ace at field hockey, ice hockey and football, having won a gold in the special Olympics for football. He also won several medals for roller skating at the national level. This short film was made to be a part of the Generation Unified Social Impact Summit (GenUin) organised by Special Olympics International. Since it was the last date to fill up the form, I hurriedly made up a project and submitted my application. Who would have known then that it would be 1 of the only 3 projects selected from all over the country?
The day I reached Los Angeles, I got a mail from The Asian Age that the story of my film had been published on their cover page. The very next day, when I pitched my project to the judges at the special Olympics GenUin programme, I could see the happiness in their eyes after watching the short film. That was the moment I realised that I had made the right decision. I had spent twice of what I earn in a year, and I have no regrets at all, this journey helped me meet so many inspirational people, who have taken on the world with their special powers.
