By Mette Nielsen

Hundreds of colourful temples, the Taj Mahal and delicious curries: Three of the things that draw Trusha Vadher to India. 

But not the main thing: For Trusha’s family comes from India, but due to her disability she has not been able to visit the country.

“Every one else in the family has been to India, but it has not been physically possible for me until now,” says Trusha Vadher.  

In just three month’s time she will be flying off to India for a three-week holiday with Able Journeys, a new company that tailors holidays for disabled people.

African upbringing

The trip to India will be the first time Trusha Vadher leaves the UK since she first arrived in 1989.

Trusha grew up in the Indian community in Tanzania in the 1970’s and ‘80’s suffering from Achondroplasia (Thoracolumbar Khyphoscoliosis), which is a form of dwarfism with several serious complications. This was a huge challenge for both Trusha and her family:

“My mother died when I was very young. My father remarried, and my stepmother was very cruel to me,” says 42-year-old Trusha Vadher.

In 1987 Trusha’s condition got much worse, and when her older sister, who had gone to the UK to study, heard of the way her little sister was treated, she decided to bring Trusha to Britain. In 1989 Trusha moved in with her sister in Oxford and things got better for Trusha after private surgery was completed with the support of the local Hindu community.

For a while she even lived on her own.

But in 2004 her condition worsened again. This time the surgery failed and she was in hospital for 4 months. She is now a wheelchair user and dependent of 24-hour care.

The dream holiday

Due to the severity of her condition the November trip to India is very much only possible due to Able Journeys, which has great experience in bringing people with disabilities to far away countries like India.

This newfound opportunity makes Trusha very grateful:

“I have told myself: I have to go to India before I die. Now it is possible,” says Trusha Vadher, and adds:

”This is my dream holiday. India means a lot to me: To me India is a very sacred place; It is a place of prayer. I really look forward to see all the temples.”

There is only one thing that worries Trusha: The planned three week holiday might have to get cut shorter because it is getting very costly bringing her full time carer along as well as making all the suitable arrangements for herself. She is therefore currently looking for people and organisations, who can and will help her out with the economy of the dream holiday. 

For  more information on Able Journeys see our video from Naidex here

Click here to go to the Able Journeys website .