At the age of 2, Imran Ghanchi was confined to a wheelchair due to polio, limiting his mobility. Nevertheless, a person with strong will-power, he did not let any challenge shake his perseverance and embarked on his journey to empowerment, showing the world how he is not disabled but differently-abled.
Imran tells Daily Times that owing to the lack of accessibility, he had to leave his school while he was in grade nine. When life shut one door for him, he turned all his efforts towards attaining vocational skills, going on to become a licensed plumber, electrician, and auto-mechanic. The challenges, however, did not stop there: Despite being professionally trained, he struggled to find a suitable job. Wherever he went, employers would either doubt his abilities and worry that he would be a liability on them, or would try to help him by giving him charity, thinking it would make them seem cruel if they made him work. “Like everyone else, I have and want to maintain my self-respect at my place of work, too,” says Imran. On how discrimination against persons with disabilities leads to their marginalization, he added, “Where society has a role to play in rooting out the repression of persons with disabilities, people like me are also responsible for proving to the world that we are equally capable and are not inferior to anyone in any way. We must not let our disability define us. We must first accept it and then strive to achieve the heights we want in life, utilizing the best of our abilities and capabilities.”
Acting upon this belief, when Imran experienced difficulties in transport, instead of depending on others, he came up with the idea of retrofitting his vehicle according to his requirements. Upon joining an organization which works for disability inclusion, he got the opportunity to expand this idea by designing retrofitted vehicles according to the individual needs of different persons with disabilities. These vehicles have hand-controlled gear and brake features that allow persons with disabilities to steer their vehicles with ease.
Currently, Imran is working for the Upcycle campaign where he is not only responsible for designing retrofitted vehicles for recycling, but he also trains persons with disabilities who have been hired under the project on how to drive these vehicles. According to him, the campaign is a double bonus. Along with cleaning our environment and bringing sustainability to our planet through recycling, it is also opening employment opportunities for persons with disabilities and empowering us in the best way possible.” Imran believes that other organizations should follow the lead to undertake more of such initiatives that benefit society and its people at large.
Today, after overcoming various difficulties and challenges, Imran has not only empowered himself but is also helping in providing livelihood to many others like him. He urges everyone to empower themselves financially to be able to lead a productive and content life.
Reflecting on his struggle with disability, Imran says, “My parents made the mistake when they failed to take care of my immunization needs. Polio is a lifelong challenge and now I have to deal with it my whole life. I implore every parent out there to administer a complete dose of polio vaccine to their children to save them from this lifelong struggle.” Imran managed to emerge from every challenge stronger. His journey from struggle to empowerment is a one of resilience, strength, and self-sufficiency which has not merely stopped at himself: his efforts continue to empower and enable those like him to find economic independence and fulfil their purpose in life.