'Be kind': Podcast launched in UAE gives voice to people with disabilities

New podcast shares how people with special needs in the UAE handle bullying and overcome adversity with community support

Abdulla Lutfi, an Emirati artist with autism, speaks on PODcast with Gulshan, to special needs advocate Gulshan Kavarana about his distinctive black and white art and why people should be more accepting of people of determination. All photos unless otherwise stated: The Podcast Office

Lutfi opens up about his experience in the art world

Sharan Budhrani reveals to Kavarana the hurt he felt as a child when people made fun of how he walked. He has a debilitating degeneration condition called muscular dystrophy

Asma Baker, an Emirati motivational speaker on the autism spectrum, who writes poems and stories, talks about bullying in schools and how acceptance and friendship can make people of determination feel less alone

Mufaddal Khumri shares a message of the need to be inclusive, so children and people of short stature can have the same opportunities as anyone else

Zahra Khumri talks about how people stare at those of short stature, sometimes without realising they are as intelligent and able as anyone else

Examples of the latest work of Abdullah Lutfi, who has launched an NFT collection. Antonie Robertson / The National

A podcast has been launched by a Dubai special needs advocate to empower people with disabilities so they can speak directly about their challenges.

PODcast by Gulshan, in which POD stands for People of Determination, was created to empower people with special needs to use their voice to raise awareness.

The platform features artists opening up about bullying on the school playground, addresses unsettling truths about nearly losing the will to live and imparts a powerful message of resilience.

Hosted every two weeks by Gulshan Kavarana, an art teacher who runs the Special Families Support Group, the episodes open up a window into the lives of people with disabilities from autism to muscular dystrophy, a condition that causes progressive weakness.

Abdulla Lutfi, an Emirati artist with autism well-known for his distinctive black and white work, said he hoped people would better understand after listening in.

“I want to say to people of the world please accept the special needs people for the way they are born and don’t treat them badly,” he told The National.

“Just treat them with love and respect and help them live their life better.

“Give them love, hope and kindness.”

Ms Kavarana hoped the stories would reach beyond the special needs community to a general audience.

“Come into their world – I want the audience to get to know people with disabilities and their families,” she said.

“Listeners should hear from people who are in this situation 24/7 – they are sharing their life story, this is the expert view.

“We have so much to learn from them that can make the world a better place.”

Bullying

In an episode aired recently, Mr Lutfi opens up to Ms Kavarana about how bullying forced him to change schools as a child.

“The kids didn’t stop making fun of me. That hurt my feelings,” the 31-year-old said about his first years in school.

“All autistic and special needs people are born different.

“I go to schools now, give workshops so they know that you should not bully special needs children, just accept them.”

The Emirati artist displays his work at his studio Next Chapter at Tashkeel, Al Fahidi with high demand for his quirky take on life in the UAE and bold renders of the Dubai skyline.

After completing high school, he was among a group of young adults with special needs who learnt art at Dubai’s Mawaheb studio.

It was there that Ms Kavarana guided him away from copying anime characters to forging his own style. His art depicting women in abayas with long eyelashes and men in white headscarves with pointed beards is on display in Dubai International Airport, hotels and banks.

Mr Lutfi tells how he first drew objects as a child to communicate with his parents and continues to visualise characters.

“I draw characters from my head that I was imagining,” he said.

“I draw with bubble words for my characters to speak.

“I’m famous now, I have a brand of black and white art.”

Surviving

Sharan Budhrani too reveals the hurt he felt as a child when people made fun of how he walked.

He was nine when he found out about his condition and 17 when the debilitating degeneration caused by muscular dystrophy made him use the wheelchair frequently.

“I walked differently and people called me names,” the 33-year-old said.

“Not all of us can be the same.

“We have to accept everyone the way they are.”

The Indian artist was among the first select group of artists to receive the UAE’s 10-year residency visa for their cultural contribution to the country.

There were months he struggled in hospital requiring a tracheostomy or feeding tube and a ventilator to breathe.

The weakness affects muscles linked to breathing and swallowing and puts the person at risk of contracting pneumonia.

In one podcast episode, Mr Budhrani speaks of fighting to find the will to survive when his condition worsened a few years ago.

Ms Kavarana’s close rapport helps her ask unsettling questions such as whether he wanted to give up.

“I had lost interest in life,” he said.

“I found myself in a very dark place. You just want to close your eyes and want it all to end. But then I saw my grandparents, saw the tears in my grandfather’s eyes. You just have to be grateful for everything.

“There are failures and setbacks but who does not have that.”

He hopes the podcast will leave an impact on people who don’t have relatives or friends with disabilities.

“In spite of being able and not having any physical or mental challenges, some people are not grateful,” he said.

“When they hear our stories, they will get to see and understand a different side to life.

“It can bring about a change in perception and inspire, motivate them to do better, be more grateful.”

Support lifeline

The podcast will, in the coming weeks, also talk to families who are the support lifeline for people with special needs.

“Siblings never get asked how do they feel,” Ms Kavarana said.

“Are they feeling stressed about how this will be their responsibility when their parents are no more.

“Nobody talks to the mom and asks, ‘How are you doing?’”

The 60-year-old art teacher has first-hand experience as she has cared for her daughter who suffered from violent seizures from the age of four months as part of a rare condition called Dravet syndrome.

She hopes the series that can be accessed on Spotify, YouTube, Instagram will address questions people have about interacting with people with special needs.

“There is a constant refrain people have that they don’t know what to say or how to behave around people with a disability,” she said.

“I’m giving you an opportunity to find out.

“Go up and have a conversation. They have so many interesting things to share, you can really learn a lot.”