“Do you have any questions, I want to get into the water”, says Ravish Dobani, eager to start his class. Ravish is a health consultant and has been teaching swimming to the disabled children of the Holy Cross School in Thane for the past one and a half years. He is usually busy running his own business, but in spite of that he has dedicated his spare time to volunteering.
He jumps into the Taral pool and I watch him teach a mother of a severely handicapped child how to hold her daughter in the water, so that she can enjoy swimming in her own way. It doesn’t take long before another less severely handicapped child comes over to help the mother and they no longer need Ravish to enjoy their time in the water.
Ravish was introduced to voluntary work by a friend he met years ago in a school in Mulund, and who was already involved in volunteering. He realized that he also could spare some time to help children with special needs. Initially he used to play music with them and take them out for small picnics.
In India physically and mentally disabled children are often kept away from society and Dobani wanted them to become exposed and give them the opportunity to visit places that “normal children” visit.
Dobani’s background as a fitness instructor, led him to soon start training the children for the Special Olympics; and last year 25 out of the 30 kids trained by him brought home medals.
Today he has established two gyms, to serve the needs of the special children in the Holy Cross School. He initially teaches them the correct methods of swimming in the gym with the help of appropriate equipment, and then later on the children are taught to use these techniques in the swimming pool.
Many children that he works with have orthopedic problems. The swimming lessons have changed their posture and improved their strength and overall fitness. Some of them are hyperactive and it has been essential for them to have something important to focus their energy on. As a result their hyperactivity through the day has been reduced.
Some children also used to have problems with their weight because of their limited ability to move. The fun and relaxing activities in the water have worked as a solution, and children that used to be overweight are now in good health.
“Come and look at this!” Ravish calls me from the pool. He shows me how a boy that was not able to use his right arm before, now has learned to move it in the water. Today this boy and several others have learned to swim without a floating device.
Furthermore playing in the water with family and friends is a good exercise both for the mind and the body no matter if the child eventually learns to swim or not.
I speak to some of the parents while keeping an eye on what is going on in the water. The significance that the swimming lessons have on the lives of these families becomes evident.
“I have an autistic child that has always loved water and I used to take him to the sea. I came up with the idea to take him to a swimming school but no one accepted him because of his problem. Now thanks to Ravish he has got a chance to do what he loves, and he has learned swimming very well”, says the delighted father of Pranjal Kulkarni.
“I have a nine year old special girl. People generally don’t think it is worth the effort teaching disabled children swimming. The truth is that they pick up new things fast, and once they learn something they don’t forget it. Because of Ravish our children also get a chance to learn” one of the mothers continues.
More people gather around me to express the gratitude they feel towards the volunteers that help their kids, and praise Ravish’s dedication and persistence as a trainer.
I ask them what would be the single most important thing, that they would want me to publicize and they all concur, that they wish people would be more aware of the existing possibilities, instead of focusing on the difficulties. Disabled children can develop their skills and the learning process can be a joyful journey for the entire family.
One has to wonder what it is that that has made Ravish so resolute in his work.
“I met a 78 year old lady from the UK, a nurse, who for the past 7 years had been travelling around India by herself. She went to different parts of the country teaching others how to deal with and train the disabled. Meeting her had a big impact on me”, says Ravish. He explains that it is possible to teach anyone anything if you just have the willpower.
Ravish keeps telling me about the methods he uses while teaching and about the future plans he has in store for the children. But the biggest obstacle that he perhaps faces is the shortage of volunteers right now. He points out to me, how many children cannot get the required independent attention because of the shortage of volunteers.
Right now Ravish has two childhood friends that help him carry out the voluntary work, Mr. Kanti Patel and Mr. Manvesh Sharma. But he is still looking for more volunteers who can help him. He points out that till some time ago both Mr. Patel and Mr. Sharma, did not know how to swim themselves, but today they teach others to swim as well.
Ravish wants to emphasize the fact that anyone can contribute. Sometimes it is not money that you need to donate but your time. As little as one hour of your time in a week, can make a huge difference in another person’s life.
“A healthy mind lies in a healthy body”, is Ravish message. He believes his program is suited not only to disabled children but also to senior citizens and can be expanded to other cities as well.
Ravish is as commendable example of volunteer work doing wonders to improve another person’s life, and should be an inspiration for all of us.
