PUNEET SINGH SINGHAL

Puneet Singh Singhal is from New Delhi, India. Puneet is a Disability Inclusion advocate and accessibility consultant. He is a person with dyslexia, dyspraxia and stammering. He is a DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) practitioner at NASA, founder of ssstart, Chief Discovery Officer for the Billion Strong and Community manager at the Global Network for Young Persons with Disabilities (GNYPWD).

“The World Will Not Change by Huge Steps, But with Gentle Steps, With Love and Care”

Q: Tell us a few things about you! Your background, your childhood and early beginnings! 

I come from New Delhi, India. I am a Disability Rights and Accessibility Advocate and recently, I’ve been exploring the intersection of Disability Inclusion and Climate Change as I have experienced extreme heatwaves, pollution, scarcity of clean drinking water due to contamination and a lack of proper healthcare access. 

I am a person with Dyslexia, Dyspraxia and Stammering. I was born in a slum in Delhi to an alcoholic, abusive father. Now, I am working as the community lead for the Global Network of Young Persons with Disabilities (GNYPWD). Also, I am a care-giver to my chronically ill mother. 

I have a Master's degree in International Relations and earned my Bachelor's in English Literature.

Q: What are some of the key challenges in your society currently?

I am concerned about how Climate Change has reached extreme levels and, in our society, we don't see people talking about it with the same concerns.

Q: Share with us some of the hurdles that you had to overcome in your life so far? How did you handle them? 

As a person born in a slum with multiple non-apparent disabilities due to poverty and an inaccessible education system, it was tough. I am also a domestic violence survivor. 

The one thing that helped me is my positive outlook and my mother's guidance. I believe this is showing up no matter how bad things are and always trying to do better than the previous day.

Q: Why is the role of a mentor important for you? 

A mentor helps to prioritise our goals and, more than the answers, their questions help us to navigate what we are searching for in our lives.

Q: Do you have a lesson that life has taught you and you would like to share? 

When I started my efforts as a social changemaker, I considered changing the world by enormous programmes backed by resources, and funds. Now after 4-5 years working on the ground, I see sustainable, long-term change by gentle, humane nudges. Reading Gandhi, and observing the failure of big multilateral organisations resulting in pandemic, war, nearly a genocide situation in the world, I have realised the importance of listening with the purpose of understanding and empathy rather than self-interest and proving superiority over others. 

Sharing the most precious time that happened during facilitating a workshop where a participant with a disability from Kashmir cracked a joke and we all started laughing and when we finished he said that it was the first time he had told a joke in his life, as he felt like sharing it. I don't know how to explain the emotions I felt and it made me realise that the world will not change by huge steps, but with gentle steps, with love and care.

Q: Name a project, a foundation or a person in your country that you think is doing great work in helping improve other people's lives! 

Anubha Singhal, Executive Founder, Enable Me Access. Anubha is an architect and has Muscular Dystrophy and she is working towards making our physical infrastructure more accessible for people with disabilities using Universal Design Principles.

Q: What are some of the challenges that women in your country face and what efforts are being made towards gender equality?

Despite some progress, the percentage of women in higher education institutions has not reached where it should be.

Q: Share with us a motto you live by. 

Purpose of Life is Life of Purpose.

Q: If you had all the money needed to launch the project of your dreams, can you describe what you would do? 

I would start a seed-funding project for youngsters with Social Impact ideas and just like GTF Mentorship programme provide them with mentorship support as well.