An educationist, philanthropist, and social worker, Dr. Radhike Khanna is a woman of resilience and the pillar of Om Creations Trust. She is also the Vice-Principal of S.P.J. Sadhana School and founder-trustee of Om Creations Trust and Shraddha Charitable Trust. These are both pioneering associations in rehabilitating developmentally challenged and autistic young adults by empowering them with employment after they graduate from S.P.J. Sadhana School.

Dr. Radhike Khanna has been drawn to helping the mentally impaired since she was a child, but her path has never been paved with rose petals. She was discouraged by many who also warned her of her imminent failure, but by grace, she changed the fate of the specially abled by empowering them to live a life of dignity. She has developed the world’s first and only five-year polytechnic programme that ensures employment for various disabled and mentally challenged people. Her work is now renowned and loved all around the world. Dr. Radhike Khanna has earned various accolades and recognition for her achievements, including the National Award for the Best Individual/Professional in the Field in December 2005 from our former President, A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, and the NCPEDP-Shell Helen Keller Award in 2008.

Amidst these unprecedented times, Dr. Khanna was able to uplift her mentally challenged students by rewarding them for their exceptional abilities. It was a heartwarming moment for their families, who were overjoyed to receive financial assistance from their loved ones during the height of the pandemic. She also told her caregivers and teachers to teach the mentally challenged adults how to make face masks using the digital platform and to offer them sewing machines so they could work from home.

Dr. Khanna has also been a driving force behind a cultural shift in which parents have learned to recognise and value their exceptional children. These specially-challenged individuals have been welcomed as productive employees in the corporate sector, and society has begun to accept them as well.

Her nearly four-decade-long journey has been marked by tremendous hurdles, hardships, public scorn, and apathy. She is content today, knowing that she has made a difference in the lives of hundreds of mentally challenged people and provided them with a stable source of income.