Affected by polio as a child, this HR consultant is spearheading the cause of the disabled

Raghavi was affected by polio when she was just five months old. As she suffered from locomotor impairment, getting through school and college on her own was difficult. Though she reduced her water intake to avoid frequent visits to the washroom, menstruation was obviously unavoidable. So her mother joined her school as a teacher just to help Raghavi in times of emergency.

To commute less and to be able to go home whenever needed, Raghavi finished her education — BE and MBA — from colleges in her locality. Having dealt with all the stigmas associated with being differently abled, she understands the problems faced by the community. Hence, with the mission of helping them lead a better life, Raghavi has started The Headway Foundation. It aims at creating awareness about the disabled population, fighting for their rights, and getting them better accessibility.

Currently pursuing her PhD, Raghavi started as an HR professional at a private company. After years of experience, she is now working as a HR consultant. One thing that has kept her going is her love for learning new things. In her words,

"I have an insatiable appetite for learning new things. So I take inspiration from a lot of people in a lot of fields."

Talking about the need for The Headway Foundation, she said,

"Everyone needs someone in their life to give them confidence and boost their self-esteem. This applies to individuals who have been excluded and stigmatised too. I started the foundation to help all of them."

For her contributions to the companies she has worked with and to society at large, she has received awards including the Women Achiever and Homepreneur awards.

Read this in Tamil.

Read more:

Making workplaces more inclusive: Deepa Narasimhan champions the cause of the differently-abled

Cerebral palsy got Prasanth Kamath rejected by schools, today he is a celebrated app developer

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