Twelve years ago, engineering student Ajay Balachandran met with an accident that left him with an injured spinal cord. Left with little to no movement from his neck down, he made ends meet by using Windows’ speech recognition software to work online. His friend Sooraj Santhosh Kumar, an MSW student from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham (UNESCO Chair), was able to see up close how life changed for Ajay when he became a quadriplegic.

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         One fine day Ajay noticed a beautiful picture of Uttarkashi, a reminiscence of a vacation posted by Sooraj on his Whatsapp status. Ajay replied to this picture how he wished to travel again, more than anything else. This set balls rolling, and the duo set out to start a nonprofit organization called ‘Prajaahita Foundation’ in September 2019. Within 12 months, Prajaahita has grown its reach and strives to work hard towards normalising life for persons with disabilities through their various unique and innovative projects.