Kochi: Oorjja, a Kochi-based organisation which aims at empowering the differently abled through skill development and certifications, celebrated its fifth anniversary at Azeezia Convention Centre, Padivattom. M Sivasankar IAS, principal secretary - Sports & Youth Welfare, Kerala, and S H Pachapakesan, commissioner, State Commissionerate For Persons With Disabilities were among the chief guests

On the occasion, Sivasankar launched Oorjja’s in-sourcing platform partnering with StartGlobal, a lobal business management platform with thousands of companies across 120+ countries worldwide. “Contrary to the normal model, Oorjja tries to find the capabilities of differently abled people and help them. StartGlobal, which is part of Oorjja ecosystem is a startup launched by Sanjay, a hearing impaired person. It is a story about how such a person was empowered and they have now reached a stage where they are giving back to society through the Oorjja - StartGlobal Insourcing platform launched today,” Sivasankar said.

The Kerala State Cerebral Palsy football team players, who won the National Championship in August this year, were felicitated on the occasion by Panchapakesan. “This event has exceeded our expectations. Normally for such causes, people hesitate to help. But along with skill building, Oorjja identifies the dreams and empower them with funding and mentoring,” he said.

As part of the anniversary celebrations, an inclusive football match was organised on Saturday. The match was held at the Sports Academy Ground at Panampalli Nagar, Kochi, as part of the "Sports for the Differently abled Persons'' campaign.

Sivasankar kicked off the match in the presence of P V Sreenijan MLA, president, District Sports Council, Ernakulam and members of Oorjja Ecosystem.
It was a unique experience as hearing impaired and visually impaired players played along with the Kerala State Cerebral Palsy team. Around 30 players including five non-disabled players played together to form a camaraderie transcending their different abilities.

Started by S.S. Jayasankar, a former mechanical engineer turned banking professional, Oorjja has a vision to equip students having different abilities with the skills necessary to launch successful careers. Oorjja provides an ecosystem of dedicated professionals to ensure equal opportunity for the differently abled persons. At Oorjja, the differently abled are empowered through skill development and certifications, allowing them to build careers based on their talent.