From hope to hopefulness

Muhammad Aslam, a 24-year-old from Kozhikode, is not ready to surrender himself to fate. He

was diagnosed with Limb-Girdle Muscular Dystrophy (LGMD) when he was 12 years old and

was bound to a wheelchair when he was of 18 years of age. The sudden tragedy in his life

made him take a step back because he was depressed and sad for a while, and this made him

drop out of school when he was doing his eleventh standard. But he didn't let that state of mind

get to him, instead, he broke off from all those chains and rose from ashes like a phoenix.

Three years after him being in a wheelchair he came across a video on youtube, about people

with muscular dystrophy and there was a phone number of Mr. Krishna Kumar, a person with

Becker muscular dystrophy, who is a writer, motivational speaker, a public figure and a true

warrior. Aslam contacted him and that led him to join a WhatsApp group called MIND, (mobility

in Dystrophy) where he met many people who go through the same troubles and difficulties he

goes through.

He started to recognize a more positive and fun side of himself after becoming an active

member of the group. Hearing stories and experiences the members shared in a meet-up at

Ernakulam, Aslam wanted to do something for his people. He proposed the idea 'Snehadanam'

for helping the members who were going through financial toil.

When everyone was going through a difficult time during the Corona pandemic in 2020

Prajaahita foundation, a non-governmental organization took the initiative to help people with

disabilities through an online English content writing course for 45 days. Aslam registered for

the course because he always wanted to learn to speak and understand the language. He

attended every session regularly and participated with high enthusiasm in Saturday's Icafe

sessions where everyone got a chance to speak things that came to their mind for five minutes.

The classes and assignments helped Aslam to improve his confidence.

It gave him that chance he always hoped for.

By the end of the course, Aslam got an opportunity to write an article about a person with a

disability in a paper. Seeing his talent and dedication Akhil Joseph founder of 'Technobugg.com'

offered him a post as a Social media publisher. Last month he received his first salary for his

job. Aslam saw his dreams and hopes reaching out to him.

Aslam surrounded by his mother, brother and a huge circle of friends celebrated the happiest

moment where he, without falling, is all set to start and enjoy the new journey of his life. A

disability doesn't define who and what a person is; there's not just one but many examples in

this world where a person with disabilities has reached to the sky and beyond. Stephen

Hawking, Helen Keller, Louis Braille, and many more are some of those persons with disabilities

who didn't let their disabilities define them. Inspired by them and other warriors around him

Aslam is now all set to take that next leap of his life.

Written by

Poonam Rose Abraham