@changemakers
Featuring grassroot stories and initiatives that spark change through upliftment, empowerment and inspiration
Striving for a kinder, more inclusive world.
An adventure enthusiast at heart, his Ladak marathon story was showcased as a documentary titled Blind People Run to on a mission to fundamentally change the lives of people with disabilities. He founded a typical advantage, the first platform of its kind in India for people with disabilities to showcase their talent, find work, and sell their art. The platform is all about going beyond a person's disability on the basis of their skills, talents and offering them opportunities to become independent
There are perhaps very few things in life more traumatic than losing your vision gradually and losing the independence that you once had. But Venice, you've come a long way from there by being fewer independent and bringing in so much value to society. How did you make this happen? And what has been your approach to dealing with this limitation that you had? And how has that led to the setting up of HR typical advantage
Vineet Saraiwala
@saraiwala · 2:34
So a very long journey, I must say I was born in a small town in Jamshapur and my teacher complained about the lack of eyesight because I was not able to see blackboard. So we had spectacles. My brother also had the same disease and we came to know our diagnosis happened when we were in standard eleven and we both were good in studies
Thank you so much, Vanik, for sharing a little bit about your journey with us. Moving on to a typical advantage. I love how every artist on your platform has their own profile page with their story because that to me, brings a whole new dimension of not just knowing the art that I'm going to buy, but also the artist behind it and their story. And that authenticity in these stories brings in a sort of connectedness with the artist
Vineet Saraiwala
@saraiwala · 1:36
A lot of people give us feedback that they just go to the website to feel positive and just read about phenomenal stories of different people and different disabilities
These stories are phenomenal indeed. Venice. I think I spent almost an entire day on your website going through all these inspiring stories and the people who have created such beautiful art. So, yes, truly, it's a commendable thing that you've done. But I wanted to ask you, how has the response been so far? And how has the experience been for the peak people who are on the platform? Are there any stories that you'd like to share with us
Vineet Saraiwala
@saraiwala · 3:00
So it's a very delight to see people getting livelihood and economic independence through the platform because at the end it's also about generating livelihood which in turn leads to awareness. On the first day of the launch of the website, we had a masseuse with visual disability again getting a booking for a foot massage by a professional digital marketer in Bombay. So it's a great way
Swell Team
@Swell · 0:15
That's wonderful to know, Vinith and Kudos to you for making this happen and fundamentally changing the lives of so many people. And yes, I did. Check out Ajay Jeffrey's painting on the website and they are brilliant, really brilliant. So, Vanessa, my next question to you is this people's perception of differently abled people in our country, as you know, is far from satisfactory. There is an overall lack of awareness and stereotypical attitudes still prevail among many of us
Vineet Saraiwala
@saraiwala · 2:24
I think everyone has their own sufferings and challenges. I too had my own suffering. Life is not easy as such, but I think treating everyone with empathy, with respect and equality will make our world more Kinder and more compassionate. So that's my message
Absolutely win it. Empathy is what is the need of other are right now and the ability to look at people beyond their disability and not simply, you know, romanticize their condition, or even like how you said, exclude them or isolate them because of their condition. So completely agree with you. But do you think vocational training in partnership with industries can help people with disabilities embrace a career trajectory that's just not about sustenance alone, but also about growth and fulfillment?
Vineet Saraiwala
@saraiwala · 2:34
There is this quote from one of my inspirations. He says, Everyone is good at something. So I think job mapping and what a person can do should be there. And I think this world be very interesting. There are enough case studies out there which tells you that people with disabilities are great at certain skills, and people with disabilities could do very good in certain kind of roles
Viniti in one of your interviews, I think you spoke about the need to live a life of gratitude that has helped you focus on your vision for life. How have you worked on being able to cultivate the sense of gratitude? Is it to do with specific thought process? I would love to know
Vineet Saraiwala
@saraiwala · 3:33
I think gratitude is deword and actually I learned it the hard way. If you look at my journey, I have been been very competitive throughout my life, whether it was making it to the top B school of the country, and they're also having that hurt mentality of competing