In its fourth year of being instituted, the Dr. Mary Verghese Award 2014 went to a person who worked to empower persons with disabilities (PWD). The award for excellence in empowering ability was presented to C. Antonysamy, who was instrumental in the development of Workshop for Rehabilitation and Training of the Handicapped (WORTH) Trust over four decades.
The award was instituted in memory of Dr. Mary Verghese, an alumnus of Christian Medical College (CMC), who went on to pioneer physical medicine and rehabilitation in the country after a spinal cord injury left her wheelchair bound.
“The award is given for efforts taken to improve the life of persons with disabilities,” said S. Vaidyanathan, member of the governing board of Dr. Mary Verghese Award Foundation and co-founder of The Spinal Foundation.
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Mr. Antonysamy was with the Swedish Red Cross and had worked to transform a small workshop set up by the organisation in 1963 into a self-sustaining organisation that balances commercial and rehabilitation work, the award citation said.
In 2014, the trust celebrated 50 years and its range of activities included 95 per cent of the world’s Braille readers, a low cost Braille bag for children below age 10, mobility aids for physically challenged, a 120-children residential school for hearing-impaired and a 156-member rehabilitation centre for children with special needs.
Dr. Mary Verghese Award of Appreciation for 2014 went to 39-year-old Srividyaa Lakshmikanthan, who had congenital spinal disorder. “I underwent a much needed surgery at the age of 13. I was unable to walk after that and discontinued studies for a year,” she said.
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After completing schooling, she studied B. Com through distance learning. She cleared the postal services examination and was employed in the department for 13 years at Srirangam in Tiruchi and Bangalore. It was in 2005 that she came to CMC’s Institute of Rehabilitation.
“Here, I met many persons like me. The institute puts patients in contact with each other so that we could support and inspire each other,” she said.
Ms. Lakshmikanthan also studied cost accountancy and is now working for a private firm in Bangalore.
The award went to her for serving as a motivation especially for women with physical challenges, peer counselling persons with spinal cord injury and supporting women with injuries in many ways.
During the three-day rehabilitation mela at CMC that came to a close on Sunday, a total of 230 persons with spinal cord injuries participated along with their families, Mr. Vaidyanathan said.
Award of Appreciation for 2014 presented to 39-year-old Srividyaa Lakshmikanthan