Bhopal: Boy suffering from progeria made chairman of MP Child Commission for a day
The Madhya Pradesh Child Commission on Friday appointed a 10-year-old Shreyansh, who is suffering from a rare disease called progeria, as its chairman for one full day during which he chaired a workshop on child rights in Bhopal.
Suffering from an extremely rare genetic disorder in which symptoms of ageing appear at a very early age, 10-year-old Shreyansh looks completely different from his twin brother Sidhant. He knows that he is suffering from this rare disease called Progeria and looks much more than his age, but his heart and desires are no different from a 10-year-old.
The Madhya Pradesh Child Commission on Friday appointed Shreyansh as its chairman for one full day during which he chaired a workshop on child rights organized in Bhopal.
"You must be surprised as to why I am standing over here. So, let me tell you that these Child Commission people had come to me and they asked me what I wanted to do. I told them I wanted to move around in a car with a red beacon on it and become chairman of the Commission, and here I'm standing in from of you," Shreyansh said, addressing the gathering.
Shreyansh also demanded that differently-abled children be treated with respect.
"I have a demand to make, those suffering from Progeria should be treated by the government free of cost and also the POSCO Act should be seriously implemented, and the police should be held accountable for any lapse in its implementation," he added.
Chairman of the MP Child Commission Raghvendra Sharma met Shreyansh during one of his visits to Jabalpur and it was during this short meeting that Sheryansh said that he too wanted to be a chairman of some commission or board some day.
"I had gone to Jabalpur and was told about this very rare diseases from which Shreyansh was suffering. I went to see him and during my conversation with him, I asked him what he wanted to do in life. He is a very witty guy and immediately answered back saying he wanted to become a chairman like me. That day, we decided that we will appoint him as a chairman of the state child commission for a day," Raghvendra Sharma said.
"I discussed the issue with other members of the commission and we decided that this was the minimum that we could do for him," he added.
Meanwhile, Shreyansh's father has expressed happiness that his child, who is suffering from a rare disease, was given a chance to head the MP Child Commission for a day.
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