International Autism Awareness Day: Kochi native Sherin's poem to be screened at UN on Sunday

KOCHI: Kochi native Sherin Mary Zacharia started writing when she was a child. With the encouragement of her parents, Sherin, who has autism and cannot speak, easily conquered the world of writing. On the occasion of Autism Day, the English poem 'Unsung Stanza' written by this 21-year-old will be exhibited at the United Nations on Sunday. The video of Sherin's sister Shreya reciting the poem will be screened in an online program attended by people from various countries.

In the first lines of her poem, Sherin states that she is putting into words her situation of not being able to speak and that the pen is her weapon. The poem will also be published on the website of the UN.

World Autism Day is observed by the United Nations through the World Health Organization. Sherin got the opportunity through the All Inclusive Foundation in Chennai through the Institute of Neurodiversity.

Sherin's poem will be presented in the Arts and Literature category at 7.30 pm IST. Three others in this category are from America and one is from Britain.

As Sherin's penchant for writing grew, her parents shifted her studies from a special school to home when she was 14 years old. Her mother Sangeeta, a teacher, gives her strong support. English writings were written in the netbook. She also writes on a blog which has readers across the globe.

Sherin, the only Malayali to have received the Central Government's Autism Marvel Award, also came first in Asia in the poetry writing competition for differently-abled children conducted by the Commonwealth Youth Council. Her father Zacharia is an engineer. Younger sister Shreya is a Plus Two student at Elamakkara Bhavans School.