At quite a lot of issues in our lives, all of us grapple with the undying existential query: ‘What’s the goal of lifestyles?’ For Primary Vivek Jacob, this profound query surfaced after dedicating greater than 15 years of his lifestyles to serving his nation.
“That’s once I realised that I’ve both been dwelling prior to now or at some point. For as soon as, I sought after to reside within the provide and in finding what I need to center of attention on subsequent,” says Primary Vivek (44) in a dialog with The Higher India.
Needing a respite from the calls for of lifestyles and craving to “sit down on a mountain, learn books, and disconnect from the arena,” Primary Vivek Jacob pondered early retirement.
“I had given my nation and my paintings all that I may. I knew it was once time for me to transport on to another aspect of my lifestyles,” he remembers. Then again, as unpredictable as lifestyles may also be, this selection took the main down a trail he can have by no means imagined.
At this time, he runs an organisation known as CLAW International (Overcome Land, Air, Water) — a social have an effect on challenge operating against the rehabilitation of other folks with disabilities by the use of sports activities. Primary Jacob now not handiest trains them but in addition leads them on exhilarating adventures, equivalent to scuba diving, sky diving, and mountain climbing.
So, what brought about this profound shift from looking for respite to founding an organisation?
From army provider to empowering the disabled
Part of 9 Para Particular Forces, in 2015, Primary Vivek met with an twist of fate whilst coaching and injured his backbone.
Whilst within the medical institution, he met Flight Lieutenant Bhaduria who was once paralysed waist down for the closing 4 years because of an twist of fate. The lieutenant had dived right into a pool and hit his head, injuring his neck which left him paralysed.
“All the way through my time within the army medical institution, as I recovered, I intently noticed how laborious my good friend’s lifestyles was once. He was once struggling and shedding hope in lifestyles,” he remembers.
A swimming fanatic, the lieutenant would continuously ask the Primary, “Will I ever scuba dive once more?”
“I had time on my palms and I began to analyze and located what other folks have carried out in spite of disabilities. I confirmed the ones movies to him and all he may say was once, ‘I don’t assume that is imaginable for me’,” he remembers.
The sight of his dejected good friend was once insufferable to the Primary. So he promised the lieutenant that he would make it occur for him. “I had made a answer in my center to lend a hand him,” he says.
This incident turned into the turning level of the Primary’s lifestyles when he determined to paintings on this path.
In 2017, he voluntarily took an early retirement with a goal in hand. The organisation CLAW International was once based in 2019 and has educated 200 other folks with disabilities in several journey sports activities.
“CLAW International isn’t just an organisation that trains other folks with disabilities, nevertheless it additionally tries to reinstill hope amongst them. I may see the certain power that they had and sought after to harness it in the fitting path,” he says.
‘Discovering skill in disabilities’
Now with a core workforce of six individuals in conjunction with 10 different individuals, the organisation trains folks with disabilities — equivalent to paralysis, terminal illnesses, visible impairments, and amputees — in journey sports activities.
Taking a look again at the time when he began brainstorming the theory, the Primary says, “After I began my analysis, I had one and just one objective in thoughts — take my good friend scuba diving. So naturally, I began having a look into the type of assets required for an individual with a incapacity to take action,” he says.
He discovered that the price to procure the assets and coaching was once a lot more pricey than expected. “I realised that making this to be had for one individual can be pricey and that there should be many available in the market who need to do the similar factor. That is once I determined to do it on a bigger scale,” he says.
“My workforce and I determined to trip from Delhi to Lakshadweep and teach other folks with disabilities to scuba dive. We began off with Chandigarh and educated about 24 other folks. It was once an excessively emotional and eye-opening revel in,” he says.
The Primary and his workforce then went to Delhi and Mumbai the place the coaching programmes had been an enormous good fortune.
“Those occasions gave me an opportunity to engage with other folks with disabilities. It made me realise that what we’re doing isn’t just gratifying a need. Our paintings is to beef up their therapeutic adventure and lend a hand them to regain the desire to reside lifestyles totally,” he says.
The organisation additionally has two extra programmes alongside the similar strains specifically — Land International File and Soul of Metal – Himalaya.
“Soul of Metal is a programme with the Govt of India. This yr, we shortlisted 24 folks. We educated them in high-altitude mountain mountain climbing and rescue, lifestyles abilities and elementary survival,” he explains claiming that the programme is the primary of its sort in India.
Explaining the Land International File programme, he says, “We educated a workforce of 8 other folks — 4 other folks with visible impairment, 3 higher limb amputees, and one leg amputee, and took them on a nine-day expedition to the Siachen Glacier and again. High Minister Modi discussed this in one among his ‘Mann Ki Baat’ episodes,” he stocks.
Chonnzin Angmo (27), who has a visible impairment, hails from Himachal Pradesh. She was once one of the most 8 other folks within the Siachen expedition. “It was once a surreal revel in. I by no means idea that I’d have the ability to make it. I used to be the one lady at the expedition. We needed to stroll for hours in an afternoon nevertheless it was once all value it. Earlier than going at the expedition, my teammates and I underwent a chain of coaching periods for 15 days,” she says.
“It was once now not simple, however the good fortune of the expedition helped me acquire numerous self assurance. Since there have been people with disabilities, every time I felt like giving up, they supported me and gave me self assurance,” she provides.
The Primary additionally has plans to enlarge the Land International File programme into Air and Water International File programmes the place he’ll teach individuals with disabilities to do impartial sky diving and water diving.
Reflecting on his paintings to this point, Primary Vivek says, “A large number of other folks have a look at disabilities with sympathy however we search for the power within the incapacity. Each individual has an interior doable that they want to realise, if you do that there’s not anything preventing you,” he explains.
In case you are an individual with a incapacity and need to revel in journey sports activities with Primary Vivek, you’ll touch him right here.
Edited via Pranita Bhat