When the world celebrated Valentine’s Day on February 14 with its usual fun and fervour, The Leprosy Mission Trust India’s Inclusive Holistic Development of Individuals with Disabilities (IHDID) project, in Kothara, Maharashtra, found a novel way to celebrate the day.

The project organised a fun-filled meeting, where 110 persons with disabilities participated with their parents. A sign language expert made the communication easy for the hearing-impaired.

The participants were offered counselling and guidance on career choices, skill development, opportunities for self-employment, causes of disability and how to manage it and information on government-sponsored marriage schemes (government has many schemes to encourage marriages between the ‘disabled and the able-bodied’).

Many participants narrated stories of how they overcame the challenges of disability, which inspired many others.