From: Trinidad Guardian
Published: Sunday, November 11, 2012
– Michelle Loubon

It was 9 am at Swaha Hindu College, Coalmine Road, Sangre Grande, on October 30. Wheelchair-bound business teacher Alana Gajadhar was teaching a group of Form Three students. Gajadhar shot to national prominence when she graduated with a postgraduate diploma (Dip Ed with distinction) at UWI Spec Auditorium, from St Augustine Campus, on October 27.
Sitting serenely, Gajadhar cut a beautiful picture with her well-coiffed hair and almost perfect makeup. Pausing from her lecture, Gajadhar, 37, spoke of overcoming the disability sustained in an accident (September 30,1991) to pursue a successful career in teaching. Gajadhar was attending St Augustine Girls’ High School when, at age 16, following the accident, she lost all sensation in her legs and became a paraplegic.
Her charges listened with rapt attention. They were drawn from rural catchment areas like Toco, Manzanilla and her hometown Sangre Grande. Gajadhar’s students made the trek to the designated Business class on the ground floor. In 2001, she first taught English at Swaha.

Basking in her academic success, Gajadhar said, “I was a little flustered when I began the education programme. Not many people would do it. They do not have the capacity or the energy. They may be downtrodden or feel a little discouraged. There were times when I wanted to give up and throw in the towel. I would say, ‘This is too much work. I don’t know how I could manage all of this.’”
Amid the challenges, Gajadhar was determined to pursue tertiary education. After A-levels at SAGHS, she read for a BSc Degree in Sociology and Management in 1997. Her passion for education and teaching was boundless. “It was a challenge. But I knew I wanted to succeed. I could not stand by and watch the world go by. In the end, I found inner courage and sheer determination. “This a challenge I would be willing to take forward and influence other differently-abled people. I want to contribute positively to the growth and development of T&T. I am seeing this as part of my role as a teacher.” 
Reverting to the fateful day of the accident, Gajadhar said she entered a bewildering world of changes. “I was 16. We were in a maxi taxi going home on the Valencia stretch. A large truck was trying to overtake another vehicle. I was unconscious. I did not remember the accident. It could not overtake properly and that’s when it hit. One girl (Naila Mungroo) died from it…it resulted in my physical condition today. I am paralysed. My spine was crushed and it never recovered. “I wondered how I would deal with it. I could not understand what was going on with my life. I just knew I could not walk.” 
The worst experience
Gajadhar confessed to having suicidal thoughts. “It was the worst experience in my life. Thoughts of suicide swirled in my head. My mother (Naindra) died in 2001. I still miss her. But the accident was extremely traumatic, I can’t explain what it was like to know you are walking one day and the next day you can’t. I was not able to feel any sensation in my legs. No one wanted to come out and tell me the truth. I had to take a year off from school.” 
Her parents Deodath and Naindra Gajadhar were struggling emotionally, too. “They had a healthy adolescent child. Suddenly they had to deal with a differently-abled child. My two younger brothers Brent and Dylan were devastated.” 
During her sabbatical, she sought a diagnosis at Toronto Children’s Hospital, Canada. But the heartwrenching reality haunted Gajadhar. “They said I would never be able to walk again. I would ask God what kind of future was awaiting me. Why don’t I die? It is better if I died. I went into a state of depression. I could not have gotten through that period without the love and support of my family and friends. They were looking out for me during those initial years.” 
Several of her students were curious about whether she felt intimidated. They even suggested schools be outfitted with elevators for the disabled. Gajadhar said at times she felt the brunt of insensitive people. “But thankfully, they are in the minority. They do not understand what it is to be blind or paraplegic or to have hearing difficulties.”
Yet she was optimistic the Government was trying to make positive interventions. “People are becoming more aware of the needs of differently-abled people. Government is trying to educate people. People are much kinder and compassionate. There is the move toward inclusion.”  
To date, Gajadhar has found the strength and peace to accept and deal with her life condition.“I am comfortable with myself. You have to find happiness within yourself and then you could be at peace and share it with others. You would not find happiness by looking to anyone else.” She has drawn support from her guru/vice principal Pundit Ishwar Maharaj and his spouse Ambika Madoo Maharaj, her best friends Vidusha Singh and cricketer Alisa Mohammed.
Motivating students
Turning to her students, Gajadhar reminded them they too can surmount challenges. “Do not think you have a world of problems and you can’t achieve anything. You have to move towards a higher calling. Don’t let anything or anyone deter you from achieving success.” 
She challenged them to emulate Swaha’s first national scholarship recipient (2012) Chelsie Ramsingh.“Chelsie put Swaha on the map,” Gajadhar said.
Describing teaching as her “joy and passion,” Gajadhar vowed she would never quit. “It has been a great experience…good satisfaction.” As the interview wound to a close, the students confessed to being proud of Gajadhar. Several of them—including Gwendal Francis, Karl Chow, Javid Sookdeo, Kaylon Meyers, La Thalia Homer, Jaden Muhammed and Hema Parasam—said they felt inspired by Gajadhar’s story.