Delhi Resident using sports to Empower Children with Special Needs



Aditya KV, a Teach for India fellow in New Delhi, decided to leave his corporate job in order to effect more significant change. In 2017, he founded ‘Umoya Sports’ with the goal of empowering one million students with and without special needs.

The Umoya team identified three specific challenges affecting Children with Disabilities (CwD): a lack of high-quality in-school programmes that offer differently-abled students holistic development, a lack of social skill development and social integration of CwD due to social stigmas and misconceptions about disabilities, and physical and mental health issues faced by CwD as a result of their frequent exclusion from sports and physical education in schools.

Umoya’s plan to address these issues began with the development of year-long programmes that improve children’s basic movement and play while teaching them the fundamentals of sports. Furthermore, under the auspices of the educational programme known as ‘Adapted Physical Education,’ they modify their current programmes for the differently-abled.

Creating Opportunities For Children With Special Needs

Aditya had four challenged students in his class who were frequently excluded from activities or sports, affecting their emotional, social, and academic well-being.

He chose sports to help these children because he is an avid athlete who believes that his time on the basketball court and football field taught him invaluable life lessons.

Aditya began a football programme for his class, and by the end of the year, he noticed a noticeable difference in all of the students’ attitudes, not just four.

It was noticed that the children were becoming friendlier and more open.

Sports helped to create an inclusive environment. That experience opened Aditya’s eyes to the difficulties that disabled children face in Delhi NCR and how sports could help them.

He explained that rather than produce future Tendulkars and Ronaldos, their goal is to create an opportunity for children with disabilities to participate in sports, develop life skills, gain confidence, and lead independent and fulfilling lives.

Producing Inclusive Sporting Events

‘Umoya’ intends to work with others to create inclusive sporting events that bring together people with and without disabilities.

Umoya has directly or indirectly impacted over 12,000 children since its inception five years ago. A pilot programme was recently launched in Mumbai and Bengaluru. Their ultimate goal, according to Aditya, is to see the day when every child has equal access to the ‘Right to Play,’ regardless of (dis)ability, gender, religion, or socioeconomic background.

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Dr. Kirti Sisodhia

Content Writer

CATEGORIES Business Agriculture Technology Environment Health Education

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