New Delhi:
Conscious that disability should not be a barrier to a sport and physical activity, 27-year-old Devika Malik is making swift strides towards her goal of assisting the physically challenged, especially women, take up sporting activities.
“Once a sportsperson earns national and international laurels, government support follows. But for those who do not get aid at the beginning stage, it is difficult to explore their potential,” says the multiple medal winner para-athlete, who is pursuing her PhD from Loughborough University, considered one of the best in the world for studies related to disability sports.
A hemiplegic (paralysis of half the body; in her case, the left side) since childhood, Devika is co-founder of Wheeling Happiness Foundation, a Gurgaon (Haryana)-based NGO that reaches out to the differently-abled in need of support.
In 2015, she was among the 60 inaugural winners of Queen’s Leaders Award, which she received from Queen Elizabeth II at the Buckingham Palace in London, for the efforts made by her NGO to build a more inclusive society for persons with physical, emotional and social challenges in India.
Recently, she was one of the two youngsters invited to speak to an audience including 53 global leaders and heads of state and the British royal family at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting 2018 in London. Recalling the event, she said, “In the 45-minutes opening ceremony, there were only six speeches, including those by the Queen of England, the British Prime Minister, the PM of Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretary General. That apart, it was a fellow Queen Young Leaders Award winner from Sierra Leone and myself, who got the opportunity to speak in front of the august gathering.
“I realised it was my one opportunity to speak on behalf of people with disabilities. I focused on the issue to impress upon the leaders that when policy decisions are taken and agreements signed between different nations, it should be done with disabled people in mind.”
In the two-minute speech, Devika made quite an impact, saying that she aimed to give young people with disabilities the confidence and independence which can transform lives, through sport.
“One of our beneficiaries, Shweta, was abandoned by her husband after her polio progressed and left her unable to walk. With our support, she took up sports. Over the past two years, this single mother of two has emerged a self-reliant sportswoman with national and international medals to her credit,” she mentioned in the speech.
As a member of Commonwealth Youth Sports for Development and Peace Working Group, Devika has been connecting with others in the field having similar objectives and who work to improve lives in their communities.
Terming this, and her first Palace visit, as the most cherished moments of her life, Devika said, “The experience have been overwhelming. The award ceremony was designed with amazing precision for the young achievers from Commonwealth countries. During the weeklong stay in UK, we met prestigious charities and their beneficiaries and learnt about their operations. In addition, we were offered a one-year online course by Cambridge University to polish our leadership skills and advocate fund raising for our project and a mentor was assigned to each one of us.”
Backed by Prince William and Prince Harry, the award initiated by Queen Elizabeth’s Diamond Jubilee Trust, had self-nominated winners undergo a series of screening processes, including an interview and thorough background check.
Devika was born with hemiplegia and her left arm and left leg are weaker than the other side of her body. “When I was young, my mother, Deepa Malik, herself a paraplegic, would make me do a lot of occupational therapies, with the result my left hand is now stronger than ever,” she informed. In her formative years, she hated it when ae bottle full of lentils was emptied and she was asked to pick up one lentil at a time and put it back into the bottle. “This was only one of my exercises,” Devika laughs.
The doctors have advised her to continue with physiotherapy lifelong, as hers is a permanent condition. “Not only will it not be cured, but it will get worse with age. Even though it is difficult, I keep at it so that the condition remains at this level and does not deteriorate. That’s the reason why we are encouraging people to take up sports,” she stated.
(Devika’s mother became India’s first woman paralympic medallist. Wheelchair-bound for the last 19 years after a tumour removal from her spinal cord left her paralysed, she has championed numerous para-sport tournaments, winning over 50 national and international medals. She has been honoured with the Arjuna Award (2012), recognising her outstanding achievements in sports, and the Padma Shree in 2017, one of the prestigious civilian awards).
Devika credits her mother for the positivity she has acquired. “She made me recognise that each person’s disability can affect them in different ways. But we have to find ways to overcome them.” Together, they have raised funds to encourage people with disabilities to take up sports and donated wheel chairs to people, only to discover that some of them were stepping out of their homes after over a decade.
Having resolved to improve lives, she said, “My experience is testament that when people with disabilities have a voice, they make the society a richer place.”
• Devika Malik was born on September 28, 1990 in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
• After studying in different army schools all over the country, she did her Bachelors in Psychology from Fergusson College, Pune, Maharashtra — 2011.
• Finished her Masters in Psychology, Delhi University — 2013.
• She is the first Indian to pursue academic research (PhD) in the field of disability sports for women in India).
• She won her first international medal at the IPC Athletes Grand Prix in Tunisia in 2014, followed by several national and international medals.
