“Volunteering is the very core of being a human. No one has made it through life without someone else’s help.” – Heather French Henry
We are excited to share the story of Ms. Manisha Pathak, who was inspired by the vision of VOSAP Founder, and became a Volunteer and is now a part of the Executive Team to contribute towards empowerment of Specially Abled People.
Manishaji hails from Ahmedabad, India and is a life coach, spiritual healer and a corporate trainer. Manishaji was connected with one of our volunteers Dhirendra Vyas, who shared a brief idea about VOSAP and Mr. Pranav. When she learnt about the beautiful cause of VOSAP and the work we are doing, she joined the VOSAP Volunteers group.
She believes that ‘Your life is not just meant for yourself or just in a surviving mode, it has a bigger purpose to give back to the people, society as that is how you feel connected to the purpose of life’.
When Mr. Desai shared his vision and mission, his passion to do something for SAP with Manishaji she was inspired to join the mission. She shared, “Learning that Mr. Desai himself being a SAP(a polio survivor) and he has achieved good things in life and is earning well and is in his comfort zone and doesn’t need to take all the pain and do this but he is doing this out of his compassion and his passion.”
On being asked Why she was motivated to join the mission, She shared, “I believe that Volunteering is a responsibility and should not come from any other hidden agenda, but the core zone of compassion and nothing else’. So once I was ready, I wanted to join.
She further added,” After I spoke to Pranavbhai, we had a weekly meeting and I met our other Volunteers Rohitbhai, Ashishbhai, for the first time. They all were coming from a different background but had this common compassion and cause which was connecting them all with Voice of SAP.” She shared, “I participated at the Nirma Event soon after that and it’s easy for me to connect with people but this time I was connected to the ‘Cause’. I understood how a person in a wheelchair feels when Accessibility is not there, or when there is no compassion among people for them, people show them pity, but that is not what they need. They need positive support and more than that they need dignity.”
Over Years, Manishaji has participated in various activities, events and initiatives of Voice of SAP.Manishaji took this mission to places by becoming part of VOSAP Youth Programs as she strongly believes that there is a need to sensitise the young minds as there is lack of awareness. The youth are creative and problem solvers. Everything starts with putting seeds in new minds. She volunteered for various youth related initiatives such as Volunteering, Essay Competition and Art From Heart. She also connected, interviewed VOSAP beneficiaries and shared their stories.
On being asked how her experience has been, She shared “My experience has been wonderful. I am always learning new things, more than that the experience of touching people’s lives. When there are people who think beyond them, meeting with them is inspirational and motivational. “Personally for me connecting with youth has been very satisfying. When you see that in the crowd they share their stories, it is inspirational. We have various program for youth like internship,research, volunteering. We have Exhibition or Art Gallery and program for Highschool students. VOSAP’s mission has become huge and it’s because of Pranavbhai’s vision and commitment.”
On being asked what She would like to tell other people regarding the cause, She shared, “We as humans must not be self centred. Life is small. We cannot always be on the receiving side, we have to be on the giving side too. Therefore, One should contribute to any cause we can relate with and when you want to contribute, Voice of SAP is the non profit for you. VOSAP is a tech savvy non profit. Usually in a technical ngo when you want to volunteer, you have to be present in person for participating but at VOSAP you get various opportunities to participate in volunteering. It may be virtual, tech related, in person and therefore you can volunteer from your comfort level, according to your time and capabilities.”
On being asked what message she would like to give to SAPs, She shared, “Being Specially Abled means that there is something special in you, you are not disabled. When a Specially Abled Person is motivated to do something with their life, it not only inspires them and other SAPs, rather each and every human being. So wherever you are and whatever you may be going through, you must take your life, responsibility, and growth in your own hands. There are so many organisations working for empowerment. So try to push yourself, for yourself and your community, expand yourself and go beyond the disability.”
It always inspires and motivates us to see the amazing contribution that our volunteers make in changing lives of Specially Abled People everyday and their compassion and empathy that drives this mission. We are thankful to all our VOSAPians for keeping up this spirit and making this world a better and empowered place for all.
