PANAJI
A person should be known by their abilities. Hrishita Raikar is a role model. Born deaf, Hrishita has learned to speak, unlike most people with hearing impairments. She has 85% hearing loss. Though her pronunciation isn’t perfect, she interacts well with people, especially her students at Sanjay Centre for Special Education. There, as an assistant teacher, she teaches English, Maths, EVS, and sign language to children.
“Educating me was a challenge, and my parents struggled. They invested their time, money, and energy for my betterment. Gradually, I learned through lip reading and speech therapy. My parents and teachers encouraged me to speak. If I can communicate without an interpreter, it’s because of these wonderful people,” says Hrishita, also known as Vaibhavi Nagvekar. Married to Rajendra Raikar, an assistant librarian at Goa Medical College, Hrishita feels blessed to have a supportive husband and a smart son. She is not shy about her disability, and neither is her husband, who has a locomotor disability.
Hrishita completed a Diploma in D Ed Special Education (Mental Retardation) from the National Institute for the Empowerment of Persons with Intellectual Disabilities (NIEPID) with 73.20% marks. She was honoured as the Best Disabled Employee (HH) on Goa Liberation Day in 2014. The Giants Group of Porvorim Saheli recognised her in 2018 as a dedicated special educator.
Hrishita speaks English confidently. “I have come out of my shell,” she says, thankful to her former teachers and speech therapist from Sanjay School. “They are the wind beneath my wings. I owe my success to them,” asserts Hrishita, who also did a two-year diploma from the National Board of Examination in Rehabilitation, an adjunct body of the Rehabilitation Council of India.
“My mother was my greatest support. She motivated me to go out and do shopping on my own. I was small then, but going out alone and communicating with people became normal for me. If she had been very protective, I wouldn’t have learned to believe in my abilities and be confident,” says Hrishita, who emphasises the need for a speech therapy training centre in Goa.
“I was born hard of hearing. My parents noticed that I didn’t respond to sound when I was a year old. Dr Krishna Murty, an ENT specialist at GMC, confirmed that I am hearing impaired. My parents didn’t lose hope and chose a special school called Shruti Classes for me in Panaji. It was an English medium school with classes in lip reading and some signs. It took me five years to speak a few words – one word at a time. Later Shruti School was shifted to Sanjay School,” recalls Hrishita.
Treatments didn’t help, but schooling worked. With the help of speech therapists, teachers, and the principal, Hrishita completed SSC through National Open School (New Delhi) in 2000 with first-class marks. It was a happy moment. After SSC, she joined Auxilium Convent at Caranzalem, which had an open school facility, but she could not attend regular classes. Studying with notes borrowed from classmates, Hrishita passed class XII in 2002 with first-class marks.
“My mother encouraged me to do a BA through IGNOU at Dhempe College. The IGNOU classes were on Sundays. As I couldn’t hear or understand, my father sat beside me to listen and later explain. It was difficult. I stopped attending classes, studied on my own, and passed BA with Sociology with second-class marks. Having learnt typing and computers, I worked as a project trainee at NIO, Dona Paula for three years until 2005. I joined Sanjay School in 2007 as an assistant teacher, teaching special students, and I am still here. This is my journey,” narrates Hrishita.
Her message to parents with children who have disabilities is: “Do not keep your children away from education. Teach skills they are interested in learning. Believe in their capabilities, and allow them to blossom. Restrictions and limitations will hamper their learning abilities. I realised my skills in cooking, rangoli designing, and drawing only after participating in competitions and winning prizes. So do not let your disabled kids stay at home. Give them wings to fly.”
