Preethi Srinivasan is first disabled woman to win Kalpana Chawla Award from Tamil Nadu government

Preethi Srinivasan was a national level swimmer when she was eight years old and was also the youngest to play in the Tamil Nadu women’s cricket team.

Her life changed when she was 18 years old after an accident left her a quadriplegic and confined to a wheelchair.

Breaking the barriers of social stigma, Preethi set up a trust called Soul Free for people affected with spinal cord injuries.

She has now been honoured with the Tamil Nadu government’s Kalpana Chawla award for courage and daring enterprise, the first disabled person to get this award in Tamil Nadu.

Soul Free is a public charitable trust that helps the severely disabled live a life of dignity and purpose.

It aims to spread knowledge on spinal cord injuries to every school, college and public so that people understand the seriousness of the condition.

Soul Free also aims to provide a support system for people with disabilities and their family via donations, education and job opportunities.

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