Kochi: An 11-year-old divyang child on Thursday swam across the Periyar river with his headmistress of the School for the Blind in Kochi.
Aibin C Thomas, a seventh class student was also accompanied by trainer Saji Valassery. They started from Advaita Ashram ghats and end it at Aluva Manappuram covering the distance of 600 meters.
Aibin was trained for 19 days to swim across the river.
Speaking to ANI he said, “We happily swam across the river. There was no fear. When a disaster comes, you need to know how to swim. We don’t know when it will come. So I want everyone to learn to swim.”
Praising the child his trainer Saji Valassery said, “He swam well. If he can, it will be possible for anyone. That way we can prevent drowning. No one will drown if you learn to swim. That’s why I’ve been teaching swimming for the past 11 years.”
Meanwhile, Jiji Varghese, Headmistress of school said, “It was a good experience. I have been learning for 40 days but it was not expected. We got good coaching. It should be an inspiration to all.”