Vicky Roy on “Everyone is Good at Something”

In this film, photographer Vicky Roy introduces “Everyone Is Good At Something”, and takes us through the journey of how this country-wide project began, its progress, emphasizing on how this website has provided a platform for people with disabilities to share their stories authentically, raising awareness and changing perceptions

How did the initiative ‘Everyone Is Good At Something’ come into existence?
I don’t really have any connection with disability, but in 2020 when COVID came, MAP Museum, Bangalore had organized a panel discussion.
In that panel discussion, VR Ferose and I were invited to speak.
My talk was about how I support society through my photography, and Ferose Bhai’s talk was about how he empowers the disability sector through art.
During our discussion, I really liked what Ferose Bhai said, so I told him, “Ferose Bhai, what you are doing is really great. I cannot help you financially, but I can support you through my photography”.
So, when our panel discussion ended, Ferose Bhai called me separately and asked, “Vicky, what’s on your mind?”
I replied that I have worked on various different campaigns, and if we can also do an awareness campaign about disability, it would help create some awareness among people.
When he wanted to know more, I sent him photos from the different campaigns I had worked on.
He also shared that for a long time, he had something similar to Humans of New York in his mind, and asked if we could do something similar to that.
So, I agreed.
After numerous discussions, I suggested that we require a tagline, he replied that in India Inclusion Foundation, a tagline is used: Everyone is Good at Something.
I really liked that line because it was very catchy, and expressed my liking.
Then, Ferose Bhai formed a team of 20-22 people.
There was a separate tech team, a different team for interviews because interviews were conducted in different languages.
Since it was COVID time, Ferose Bhai pointed out that people could not travel to the city, even for their India Inclusion Summit, and suggested we go to their homes instead.
This is how we initially started as a pilot and my shoot began in 2020 itself.
What is the current progress of the project?
So, the website is called ‘Everyone is Good at Something’.
When everything was finalized, Ferose Bhai asked me my remuneration expectations, and I said I’d do it voluntarily and without any charges.
He told me that, “Vicky Bhai, no major change can happen in just one or two years, if you are working on something, you have to commit at least ten years to see even a small change. So, if you take up this project, you must commit to ten years.”
So I agreed to a 10 year commitment.
Then, they built a team, and I started traveling.
Everywhere I went, they connected me with someone.
I would go, take their photos, and send them to C K Meena, who writes all our stories.
Volunteers speaking different languages – Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Tamil – work under her.
These volunteers are given a question format, they ask the questions, take notes, and then send them to Meena Ma’am, who refines them into a polished version.
After that, we publish one story every week – one week focuses on a male story, the next week we feature a female story – so that the gender ratio remains 50-50.
In this project, we have covered all 21 disabilities.
So far, we have published over 200 stories on the website.
I have traveled over 1,00,000 kilometers, covering all states and union territories.
People read these stories and call me, and about 20,000 people have subscribed to our website.
When the stories reach them, they share them with others, and then people call me saying, “Vicky, I read this story, and I want to support this person”, and I directly connect them because I don’t want any foundation to be a middleman.
Helping directly keeps the process honest and builds trust, that’s why I connect them directly.
We have helped about 25-30 people so far like this.
Most of the stories we publish are from rural India because one thing I have noticed while working in this field is that disability awareness is very city-centric.
In cities, people at least get some opportunities – they can go to hospitals, for example, but for those living in remote rural areas, even reaching a hospital is a massive challenge.
They might earn only ₹100-₹150 a day, so hiring a vehicle to travel to a hospital is impossible for them.
But what I really like is when people call me after reading their stories, wanting to help.
Ferose Bhai has given me full freedom on the ground.
He trusts that since I am in the field, I know the real situation.
If anyone wants to start a small shop at home, and it costs around ₹10,000-₹15,000, he told me I don’t need to ask him and provide on-the-spot support.
So, when I travel and find someone in need, I don’t pay anyone directly but connect them with a volunteer and get it done immediately.
So, this is how the project is done.
This 17th, our book ‘Everyone is Good at Something’ was launched.
The book has 100 stories in them featuring persons with all 21 disabilities from India’s 28 states and 8 union territories.
During the India Inclusion Summit in Bangalore, this book was launched by Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary of the Ministry of Social Justice.
So now, whenever I face any difficulties, the Ministry of Social Justice also helps me with the project.
For example, if I go to a state and need a story, I call the department, and they connect me to someone.
This has made my work much easier.
By December 20th, 2024, this project will enter its fifth year.
I think my first shoot was before December 20th 2020, but the website was launched in April 2021.
I always ensure to keep a three-month backup of content. I am also working elsewhere as a freelance photographer, here I am working voluntarily. I also need freedom to take up personal projects. I ensure they have enough data so that even when I am travelling, they have enough photographs and the work does not stop.
How has your experience with this project been so far?
When I started this project – because I’ve grown up in an NGO, Salaam Baalak Trust, and I know NGOs usually don’t have funds, but when I expressed my interest in photography, Salaam Baalak connected me to a volunteer who taught me the basics of photography; then I trained under a different photographer, but they did not pay Salaam Baalak for my apprenticeship – this is why I offered my skill to Ferose Bhai, I told him that I could not support financially, but as I found the project very interesting, I could offer my skill.
But during the work, financial needs do arise, so I appeal to my audience that whoever can help with money should do so, and those who cannot contribute money, can definitely contribute some of their time.
As a young person, I could have skipped this and pursued other jobs to earn money, but I know that society has brought me this far, so it is also my responsibility to give back.
If I can return something to society through my skills, it makes me feel good and I want to continue doing such work because even if it brings a small change, I want to be a part of it.
For example, our website ‘Everyone is Good at Something”, which contains stories of all 21 disabilities and over 200 stories, in the future, if someone wants to do a PhD in this field, they will find a collection of their stories with photographs all in one place.
I have taken the photographs in such a way that people do not look at them with pity.
If you visit the website and see the photos, you won’t feel pity.
So, the idea was, when I started, I searched on Google for disability-related images, and I realized that most pictures were evoking pity.
So I started wondering how to change (break) this, and figured that I will know once I start working in the field and decided to think about it when I was on the ground.
When I went into the field, I saw how a person with a disability inhabits their home – their kingdom.
I saw how their daily life is.
So, I decided to focus on their everyday life.
If you look at my photographs, you’ll see I have not highlighted their disability.
Instead, I have captured how they live, just like any of us do in our homes.
My hope is that 10 years from now, when someone searches for disability-related images on Google, and if my photos appear, they will give the next generation a new perspective to think and do something which will be a step ahead.
This is the perspective I have taken and I am still learning as I don’t really have much knowledge in this field, and I am not highly educated – I have only passed class 10 – but I feel that by experiencing things, I can retain them.
And I meet different kinds of people, and they give feedback, which we accept.
And many times after a shoot, some people say they don’t want their story published on the website, and I know that my time and money are spent – well, not mine, but Ferose Bhai’s, but we respect that decision.
I also feel that it is very important for people to know the stories of rural India, and the problems they face.
And I think maybe in the future, this project could assist the government in policy-making.
If they look at a large number of stories, they can analyze them and it can assist in policy making.
So, this is the way I am trying to work on the project, and I hope it brings some positive change.
Now I receive messages from people on Instagram and WhatsApp, asking, “Vicky, when are you shooting my story?”
Some people message me from Hyderabad, some from Bangalore, or other places.
I promise them that whenever I visit next time, I will shoot their story, so they feel very good, and I earn blessings.