Sailor from Social Welfare School Clinches Gold Medal in Regatta

Hyderabad: "With immense sense of gratitude, I thank Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao for making sure that children from poor family backgrounds shouldn't lag behind the well-off families," said an elated Shirisha of Social Welfare Residential school Nancharla after clinching the gold medal at the national level Junior Coastal Multiclass Regatta championship held at Mumbai from 27 April to May 2.

With tears in her eyes, she said, "My ambition to become a world champion in sailing and bring laurels to the country'. What makes her feat truly remarkable is the fact that her mother alone works as a migrant labourer who has been toiling hard to make both ends meet."

Undeterred by grim family background, Shirisha set her eyes firmly on sailing which no other poor student could dare to think of, as it is an expensive sport. With sheer determination, she took training at 'The Hyderabad Yacht Club' under the tutelage of the Telangana Social Welfare Residential Educational Institutions Society. Shirisha proved to the world that a marginalized girl can achieve the impossible if opportunities are provided and marginalized girls are not inferior to anyone in the world.

In recent years, the students of social and tribal welfare residential institutions have been creating awe inspiring records in various fields including mountaineering. Malavath Poorna, a student of Social Welfare Residential Degree College, Kamareddy, set a world by becoming the first tribal girl in the world to conquer the five tallest mountain peaks located in the five continents of the world.

TSWREIS Secretary Dr RS Praveen Kumar said, "We are exposing students to various activities like adventure sports, mountaineering, boxing, coding, wrestling, classical dance, stock market, public speaking, journalism, Western music, horse riding, sailing, art and craft, etc, aimed at unleashing the true hidden potential and talents of students from rural and tribal areas. No other state government in the country embarked on such a noble mission in the field of government education to empower the marginalized children with huge budgetary allocations under the KG-PG Mission." He thanked the Chief Minister and Minister for Welfare Koppula Eshwar.

Suheim Sheik, Director of the Hyderabad Yacht Club exuded confidence that students from welfare residential institutions have the potential to become world champions in sailing.