Here’s a story of a teenage boy, who battled ‘below average intellectual and adaptive functioning’ to represent our great nation at the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Los Angeles. He was so good that he returned home with two gold medals in 1km and 2km cycling events.
After his triumph, Rajbir Singh received a hero’s welcome like most athletes do when they return home, but as time went by his achievement and fame faded away.
Fast forward to present day, the 17-year-old Rajbir has been forced to start working as a daily wage labourer to make ends meet instead of practising and nurturing his skill to bring more laurels to the nations.
Abject poverty has halted his training as family barely has money for food, so, cycling, once a passion for talented Rajbir, now it’s only a thing of the past.
In May, Gurpreet Singh, founder of NGO Manukhta Di Sewa, came to know about Rajbir's tale and decided to help him. Rajbir now pushes wheelchairs and does odd jobs at the NGO. "At least now he is not a labourer like me," said Balbir with a heavy heart.