Shakti performs with the Scat Choir from Hillcrest High School.
IT is always an easier option to retreat in a corner and be alone when you’re different from others. For Shakti Krishnan, that option was never considered. Despite being confined to a wheelchair since he was young due to spina bifida, the Hillcrest High School student from Hamilton, New Zealand never made his condition an excuse not to integrate and socialise with the people around him.
His positive outlook on life and gregarious nature also make it easy for his friends and everyone else to include him in activities and forget the fact that he’s in a wheelchair.
But Shakti doesn’t give himself all the credit when it comes to the easy integration.
“New Zealand is a very inclusive place especially for someone like me. The people here, in particular my schoolmates and teachers from Hillcrest High School, don’t really take notice of the fact that I move around in a wheelchair and will treat me the same as they do others.
“They understand and accept my condition fully and will invite me to social events like how they would with other teenagers,” he said.
An avid sports and music lover, Shakti was born in Kuala Lumpur. He now lives in Hamilton with his restaurant owner parents and younger sister.
On advice from relatives in New Zealand, his parents had made the decision to uproot and move to New Zealand when he was younger, to give him the opportunity to be educated in an inclusive environment.
“My relatives who were living in New Zealand then had told my parents of the facilities that schools in the country provide for students with disabilities. They thought moving to New Zealand and bringing me up here would be the best for me especially since I have to spend my life moving around in a wheelchair.
“True enough, I’ve had a good experience in my schools so far. For example, facilities at Hillcrest High School have made things very easy for me. There are ramps and lifts around
the school which makes moving from one level to another a breeze.
“The school also has the Physical Assistance Centre, which enables students with physical disabilities like me to still have the opportunity to be involved with and participate in all school activities. They give me the freedom to choose what’s best for me and to learn from my mistakes.
“In short, the centre helps me have a mainstream educational experience that is similar, if not the same, as my schoolmates,” shared Shakti, who recently had the opportunity to visit different parts of Malaysia including Kuala Lumpur, Melaka and Penang with his school’s Scat Choir.
With the school choir, Shakti plays a vital role. Before their performances, he ensures that everyone is on key and more importantly, he makes sure that his team-mates are always having fun wherever they are.
“I don’t let my disability and the fact that I’m stuck on a wheelchair stop me from having fun while singing. I still find ways to inject my personality in our performances and dance with my choir mates to make the performance an enjoyable for us and the audience,” Shakti said.
Now in his final year in Hillcrest High School, Shakti is making plans to further his studies in Health Sciences at the University of Auckland.
“I spent a big part of my life being in and out of hospitals. To some extent, that experience has made me very intrigued about health and the sciences behind it, which is why I’m aiming to pursue a Health Sciences course in university.
“I’m still not decided on what exactly I want to be doing in this field but I hope I’ll be able to give back to the community in the future through whatever path I decide to take. I think that’s the best thing I can do for the people around me after what they’ve done for me so far,” he added.
For more information about education opportunities in New Zealand go to www.studyinnewzealand.com.