With 2 decades of empowering the disabled community, Arpita Yadav is truly unstoppable

Arpita Yadav from Haryana is the single mother of a disabled child. Over the years, Arpita has worked with the disabled community and has been instrumental in empowering hundreds of children. She rose to fame after being part of ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ (KBC) show where she won prize money of Rs 6,40,000. Arpita talks about her inspiring journey.

For those who watch Amitabh Bachchan’s ‘Kaun Banega Crorepati’ (KBC) show, Arpita Yadav needs no introduction. A single mother who has been working in the disability sector for over two decades, Arpita’s determination, will-power and confidence is inspirational. Over the years, she has worked with many NGO’s. Aprita, who was living in Rajasthan with her son Nirbhay, recently moved to Haryana. Arpita shares with NewzHook her inspiring story of being a part of the disabled community in India.

Journey of a single mom

Being a single mother, Arpita knows the hardships of bringing up a disabled child. Her husband who refused to accept Nirbhay’s disability, left the family. But Arpita had a lot of support from her parents who stood by her to ensure that Nirbhay gets nothing lesser than the best.

Nirbhay has a condition called Infantile Refsum due to which he has multiple disabilities. Most of his childhood was spent in hospitals. It was when Nirbhay was seven years old that Arpita decided to move to Jaipur.

My son is now twenty years old. When he was born, the doctors confirmed that he wouldn’t live for more than ten years. But Nirbhay is a real fighter. He has given me reasons to move ahead in life. Experts confirmed that his condition is OK now. Nirbhay is still learning and coping with his challenges. In fact, I call him my ‘guru’ for being so inspiring and motivating.

Empowering the disabled community

Arpita spent ten years in Delhi where she did a course in special education. After working there for over five years, she moved to Jaipur with her son.
She even started her own center named ‘Learning Aspirations’ for children with specific learning disabilities. Apart from being part of numerous parent support groups, Arpita was the founder member for many NGO’s like Approach Autism, Aham Foundation and Mitr.

“Just like any other parent, I was initially upset over my child’s condition. But I accepted Nirbhay for what he is and life became beautiful after that”, says Arpita.

On KBC’s hot seat with Amitabh Bachchan

Arpita says that she is not a fan of watching television shows. “But Nirbhay loves watching certain channels like Sony TV. Once I happened to watch the KBC show. I realized the huge impact that the show has on audience. So I thought, why not use this platform to create awareness about disabilities. That is how it all started”, says Arpita.

After working on it, Aprita managed to get to the hot seat with India’s biggest superstar Amitabh Bachchan. “I wanted to talk about my journey as the single mother of a disabled child. I’am sure there are thousands of people out there who needs to hear my story”, says Arpita.

Arpita recollects that she got hundreds of calls from across India after the show was aired. Parents of disabled children from different parts of the country called her. Some of them even came to meet her.

Arpita managed to get a prize money of Rs 6,40,000 after winning the show. “I did not participate for the money. I wanted to create awareness about disabilities. In fact, being part of KBC was a life-changing thing for me”, she says. Amitabh Bachchan himself has promised Arpita to help create awareness about disabilities across India. Arpita is hopeful.

“I believe that there is a purpose for you to have a disabled child. It uplifts you and makes you a better human being. You understand and value even the smallest things. My son learnt to walk when he was seven years old. My joy knew no boundaries. Most parents take this for granted”, says Arpita.

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