Born to divorced parents and losing his mother at a very tender age of three, Kedizelhou Rutsa’s childhood is unusually sad and smeared by bittersweet memories of growing up ‘different’. But the grateful heart he carries around refuses to grow dim, even as he begins to recount his blessings one by one.
Lucky for him that he grew up in good hands as he recalls his grandmother taking care of him in his infant stage. Notwithstanding the fact that he was born physically weak and consequently suffered typhoid and pneumonia as a child, he survived a phase of ‘soft neck and weak body’, as he describes himself in those days.
Later on, when his foster parents took him under their care, he expresses with gratitude that they gave him all the love and affection in spite of his special needs. “They never treated me differently but took me like any other child,” he says, except that they didn’t allow him to carry heavy loads.
He also recalls the fact that he wasn’t able to write smoothly. “Writing was very difficult for me, I was very slow and I couldn’t even use the ink pen,” he says. And so it amazes me that somebody who had great difficulty writing went on to graduate besides earning a B.Ed Degree and is currently teaching children to reach for their goals.
When asked how he could manage his examinations, he simply states, “That’s the wonder of it,” and goes on to add that people suggested he apply for extra time, but his foster parents did not want him to feel differently. And his indomitable spirit enabled to get him through the testing times.
He passed HSLC in 1989 only after the third attempt, but he still insists that his first failure wasn’t because of his slow writing but because he wasn’t sincere. He missed it the second time and got through the 3rd time, successfully. He graduated from Baptist College Kohima in 1994, subsequently did his B.Ed and taught in Mount Hermon School Kohima before joining Government service in November 1997.
Ever since, he’s been teaching Social Science at Government High School, Zubza. And I take this as a great achievement. I’ve come across his students who think the best of him and remember him as a Teacher who was strict but won their admiration at the same time.
Perhaps the testimony to this is the State Teachers’ Award conferred on him during the State Level Teachers’ Day Celebration at Kohima last year.
When he was younger, he thought otherwise himself, even as he confesses, “I thought I’ll never become anything in this world. I was just living because people were living. I had no dream and it may sound very silly but when I saw people carrying wallets, I thought to myself, ‘will I ever carry one like that?’ From a young age, I was fascinated with jeans and wanted to wear one, but thought I would never be able to afford it.”
Life wasn’t rosy for somebody who grew up battling Cerebral Palsy and taunts of those who called him “Crooked Neck”. “Sometimes I got really annoyed but sometimes I pitied them for not being able to understand,” he voices.
But he says that the turning point in his life really was when he committed himself to God. “I found hope in Him and a new lease of life,” he emphatically states.
He also expresses his deep love and gratitude for his foster parents to whom, he says, he owes all his achievements. “I am really indebted to them.” Further putting across that he will always cherish them, he states, “They are responsible for the life I am living today,” and goes on to add that the love and concern they’d shown in varying degrees are priceless.
This Special Person strongly feels that ‘it is so important when living with People with Disability to create an environment of showing them a new way of accepting his/her disability’. “It lies in the way the people around you treat you, mingle with you and their positive attitude towards you,” he says.
With a little dismay, he adds, “The problem is many parents are not able to accept them; ultimately the person concerned retreats more and more into himself with the feeling of being ‘abnormal’ in a ‘normal’ world.” From experience, he recalls that he felt very small once upon a time, but remembers with gratitude that a friend of his, Vechovo, used to tell him, “In front of God, we are all Great People” and insisted on him repeating ‘I am great’ 10 times in front of the mirror every morning.
“I know this may sound very silly for some people, but it helps in changing your perspective of who you are,” he says.
In the recent past, he has participated in the All Nagaland DCs Meeting to highlight the importance of including people with disabilities, Baade Kadam at Dimapur, World Disability Day in Kohima, and also submitted a Representation to the Vice President of India when he visited Nagaland, seeking for the setting up of a separate Commissioner for the disabled in the State.
Even as he feels the need for more awareness on People With Disabilities, he strongly advocates that they are n different from anyone and has the right to live and be treated equally as everyone.
In the Naga society many people still think of disability as a curse, he says, adding that there’s still much to do in terms of inculcating acceptance, which he firmly believes, should begin in the family. He, moreover, says, “As a Christian state, we should also retrospect on our spiritual development, and have a more positive outlook towards people with special needs.”
He has a strong concern for the young generation and expresses his desire to work more with them. He feels that young people today are drifting away from scripture principles, allowing modernity to take the place of spiritual principles. He is concerned that they differentiate spirituality from modernity.
On one last note, he says, “As a Person with Disability, I feel that people should be more grateful with the life that they have…we all have just one life and we should live meaningfully to please the Creator.”
As for him, he has indeed come a long way appreciating the Gift of Life. Despite the jeers and mocks that tested his spirit every now and then, he is testimony to a meaningful victorious life - someone who inspires just by being.
Lucky for him that he grew up in good hands as he recalls his grandmother taking care of him in his infant stage. Notwithstanding the fact that he was born physically weak and consequently suffered typhoid and pneumonia as a child, he survived a phase of ‘soft neck and weak body’, as he describes himself in those days.
Later on, when his foster parents took him under their care, he expresses with gratitude that they gave him all the love and affection in spite of his special needs. “They never treated me differently but took me like any other child,” he says, except that they didn’t allow him to carry heavy loads.
He also recalls the fact that he wasn’t able to write smoothly. “Writing was very difficult for me, I was very slow and I couldn’t even use the ink pen,” he says. And so it amazes me that somebody who had great difficulty writing went on to graduate besides earning a B.Ed Degree and is currently teaching children to reach for their goals.
When asked how he could manage his examinations, he simply states, “That’s the wonder of it,” and goes on to add that people suggested he apply for extra time, but his foster parents did not want him to feel differently. And his indomitable spirit enabled to get him through the testing times.
He passed HSLC in 1989 only after the third attempt, but he still insists that his first failure wasn’t because of his slow writing but because he wasn’t sincere. He missed it the second time and got through the 3rd time, successfully. He graduated from Baptist College Kohima in 1994, subsequently did his B.Ed and taught in Mount Hermon School Kohima before joining Government service in November 1997.
Ever since, he’s been teaching Social Science at Government High School, Zubza. And I take this as a great achievement. I’ve come across his students who think the best of him and remember him as a Teacher who was strict but won their admiration at the same time.
Perhaps the testimony to this is the State Teachers’ Award conferred on him during the State Level Teachers’ Day Celebration at Kohima last year.
When he was younger, he thought otherwise himself, even as he confesses, “I thought I’ll never become anything in this world. I was just living because people were living. I had no dream and it may sound very silly but when I saw people carrying wallets, I thought to myself, ‘will I ever carry one like that?’ From a young age, I was fascinated with jeans and wanted to wear one, but thought I would never be able to afford it.”
Life wasn’t rosy for somebody who grew up battling Cerebral Palsy and taunts of those who called him “Crooked Neck”. “Sometimes I got really annoyed but sometimes I pitied them for not being able to understand,” he voices.
But he says that the turning point in his life really was when he committed himself to God. “I found hope in Him and a new lease of life,” he emphatically states.
He also expresses his deep love and gratitude for his foster parents to whom, he says, he owes all his achievements. “I am really indebted to them.” Further putting across that he will always cherish them, he states, “They are responsible for the life I am living today,” and goes on to add that the love and concern they’d shown in varying degrees are priceless.
This Special Person strongly feels that ‘it is so important when living with People with Disability to create an environment of showing them a new way of accepting his/her disability’. “It lies in the way the people around you treat you, mingle with you and their positive attitude towards you,” he says.
With a little dismay, he adds, “The problem is many parents are not able to accept them; ultimately the person concerned retreats more and more into himself with the feeling of being ‘abnormal’ in a ‘normal’ world.” From experience, he recalls that he felt very small once upon a time, but remembers with gratitude that a friend of his, Vechovo, used to tell him, “In front of God, we are all Great People” and insisted on him repeating ‘I am great’ 10 times in front of the mirror every morning.
“I know this may sound very silly for some people, but it helps in changing your perspective of who you are,” he says.
In the recent past, he has participated in the All Nagaland DCs Meeting to highlight the importance of including people with disabilities, Baade Kadam at Dimapur, World Disability Day in Kohima, and also submitted a Representation to the Vice President of India when he visited Nagaland, seeking for the setting up of a separate Commissioner for the disabled in the State.
Even as he feels the need for more awareness on People With Disabilities, he strongly advocates that they are n different from anyone and has the right to live and be treated equally as everyone.
In the Naga society many people still think of disability as a curse, he says, adding that there’s still much to do in terms of inculcating acceptance, which he firmly believes, should begin in the family. He, moreover, says, “As a Christian state, we should also retrospect on our spiritual development, and have a more positive outlook towards people with special needs.”
He has a strong concern for the young generation and expresses his desire to work more with them. He feels that young people today are drifting away from scripture principles, allowing modernity to take the place of spiritual principles. He is concerned that they differentiate spirituality from modernity.
On one last note, he says, “As a Person with Disability, I feel that people should be more grateful with the life that they have…we all have just one life and we should live meaningfully to please the Creator.”
As for him, he has indeed come a long way appreciating the Gift of Life. Despite the jeers and mocks that tested his spirit every now and then, he is testimony to a meaningful victorious life - someone who inspires just by being.
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