They Said No One Would Marry Him. He Proved Them All Wrong." | Dr Amo Raju OBE

What does it feel like to grow up disabled, be told no one would marry you, and carry 17 years of silent pain — all while building one of the most respected charities in the Midlands? Amo Raju OBE sits down with Naroop Jhooti for one of the most raw, unfiltered conversations The Dad Project has ever hosted. Amo shares the stories he's never told publicly, the aunties who wrote him off at age 8, the 4-hour cry that changed his life at 17, eloping with the woman he loved against caste and family, a hospital chaplain's words that became his life's mantra, and 30 years of silent depression as a CEO at the top of his game. This is a conversation about disability, identity, love, fatherhood, mental health and what it means to be a man who refuses to stay in the box others build for him. (00:00:00) The Hospital Chaplain Who Changed Everything(00:02:34) The Turning Point: Four Hours of Crying at Age 17(00:06:13) Growing Up Disabled: The Conversations Had About Him Without Him(00:09:41) Three Little Girls and the Bullying That Changed Everything(00:34:33) The Love Story: Eloping Against Caste and Disability(00:41:20) Twenty-Five Years Without Acceptance: The In-Laws' Rejection(00:56:39) Thirty Years of Hidden Depression: The Therapy Sessions(01:17:31) The Second Awakening: Owning Success and Removing the Mask(01:07:51) Buckingham Palace and Making Noise: The OBE and What Comes NextTopics covered:Growing up disabled in a first-generation immigrant familyBeing bullied at school and carrying it in silenceThe emotional breakdown at 17 that became a turning pointEloping - marrying against caste with a disabled man no family wanted25 years of in-law rejection and what it taught him about loveA mini-stroke, a hospital chaplain, and a mantra that changed everything30 years of secret depression as a CEOReceiving an OBE and what Mrs Raju said on the drive homeDisability in India, donating 650+ wheelchairs, and fighting global inequalityWhat it means to become "King of Disabled People" About The Dad Project The Dad Project is a podcast and community for real, unfiltered conversations on men's mental health, fatherhood, and the struggles men carry in silence. Follow Andrew PritchardInstagram: @amorajuofficialLinkedIn: dr-amo-raju-obe-dl-1253a634/Facebook: @amo.raju.39TedTalk: He Walks Like a ManFollow The Dad ProjectInstagram: @thedadprojecthq (https://www.instagram.com/thedadprojecthq)TikTok: @thedadprojecthq (https://www.tiktok.com/@thedadprojecthq)YouTube: @thedadprojecthq (https://www.youtube.com/@thedadprojecthq)X (Twitter): @thedadprojecthqLinkedIn: The Dad Project (https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-dad-project)#MensMentalHealth #DisabilityAwareness #TheDadProject #AmoRaju #MensWellbeing