Sneha Bhattacharjee believes disability is not a barrier to dreaming big

Sneha Bhattacharjee, a 13 year old girl from Tripura is hearing and speech impaired. But this youngster has beaten her disability to make her mark already. Sneha, who is studying in class 4 at a mainstream school, has reached at position number 5 in her class. She is also an ardent artist who has won many awards and recognitions for her work. Sneha has over 100 paintings to her credit already.

13 year old Sneha Bhattacharjee has beaten many odds and obstacles in life. This youngster was diagnosed with a hearing and speech impairment when she was a year old. The family that hails from Joynagar village in Tripura was unaware on how to empower or reach out to her. But with courage, grit and determination, Sneha overcame all hurdles. Today, she does academically very well and is also an ardent painter. Sneha’s journey to being empowered is truly inspiring.

Born with a disability

It was when Sneha was a year old that her parents realized she had a disability. She was not responding to sounds and did not speak as well. She was soon diagnosed with a hearing disability.

Sneha dropped out of school at an early age. That was when Collective Action for Basic Rights Foundation (CBRF) team gave her an intervention. But she did not wish to return back to school. After rigorous counselling, Sneha was enrolled into a general school in her village.

Later, she joined the Ferrando Speech and Hearing Centre in Agartala in order to learn sign language. In fact, her parents also learnt sign language so that they could reach out to Sneha. Soon, she received a disability certificate, hearing aids and other entitlements with the help of CBRF team. Recently, she won an award from the CBRF team for her unique skills and talents.

An ardent artist

Today, Sneha is a student of class 4 and is doing academically very well. She even reached the fifth position in her class in a regular school.

It was while in school that Sneha developed love towards arts, mainly drawing. This youngster has already undergone a formal training in arts as well. Most of her works are done in water color and oil paints. In over a year, Sneha had completed more than 100 paintings.

“Currently, I want to learn different forms of painting and work on improving it. I want to teach art to many other students too. That is my dream”, says Sneha.
Sneha also bagged a gold medal in a drawing competition from Bangiya Sangeet Parishad in the year 2019. Recently, she was awarded from a Child Art teaching centre for her skills in art.

Sneha’s mother Mrinalini says, “As parents, we want to support her in all her ventures. She loved drawing since a very young age”.

Her parents are adamant on helping their child chase her dreams. Clearly, a disability cannot stop this young and determined girl from aiming for the stars. As Sneha puts it, “My disability is my ability”.

Watch in Sign Language

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