13 Differently Abled Indians Created The Most Inspiring Calendar Ever

When you’ve hit rock bottom, and you feel like the world is just kicking you while you’re down, you’ve got two options — you stay down, or start #RisingAbove the challenges. In their calendar, Project Rising Above features 13 strong, beautiful Indians who have found peace within themselves, despite the setbacks life has thrown at them. The individuals in this calendar are all differently abled, but with pure courage and resilience, they went on to break out of the boundaries society confined them in.

Curated by Mission Smile, creating awareness is the main goal of Project Rising Above. From a 26-year-old professional swimmer, to a 13-year-old Hockey Goal Keeper, the calendar not only shows us all how incredibly powerful each of these individuals are, but also aims to showcase how their disability doesn’t define their life. India’s lack of appreciation for these real life superheroes is what Preeti Rao, co-founder of Mission Smile wants to change. From getting people to work on no budget, to raising 2.5 lakhs through crowd-funding, Project Rising Above certainly makes us believe that this change in perspective is here to stay.

The calendar serves as inspiration to every abled and/or differently abled individual who at some point deemed their life, and themselves, not worth the fight. The advertising industry constantly portrays their idea of the ‘average’ human being as a picture perfect figure, making it only harder for those who struggle with body image, low self esteem and disabilities. One of the individuals in the calendar is an aspiring model who wants to shake up the industry, and another is a Paragold medalist who has received a Padma Shri award, and has a biopic in the making.

Scroll on for a look at some of the truly inspiring models featured in the #RisingAbove campaign, photographed by G. Kumaran.