Nisha Proves That People of All Abilities Can Change the World

Today, we highlight a Malala Fund project from Nisha, a 23-year-old woman from South Africa with cerebral palsy. We were inspired by her passionate social media posts asking the public to help reach her $2,500 goal for Malala Fund.

My name is Nisha. I am an ordinary 23-year-old in many ways except for the fact that I have cerebral palsy, which has left me wheelchair-bound with some degree of speech impediment. But things are not so bad. I have an awesome family, I’m the oldest of three kids, and I live in South Africa, a country that embraces diversity in all its forms.

Although I have made peace with the fact that I have cerebral palsy, when I was younger, I remember praying to be able to walk. But now I thank God that He didn’t answer my prayers, because I have come to realize that my “disability” is an opportunity for me to teach the world that we are all more alike than we are different.

Watch Nisha’s campaign video here:

Life gives you lemons sometimes. It’s up to you what you do with them. I am making lemonade out of my lemons by blogging about my experiences at Life and Living With Cerebral Palsy and fundraising for worthy causes, including my current campaign, Educate Generations, on behalf of the Malala Fund. I believe it is my duty as a human bring to leave the world a little better than it was when I got here.

I read “I Am Malala” and I came to believe and understand that when you educate a girl, you educate generations.

Malala’s passion for education — the way she talked about school and education in the book — really moved me. Girls’ education is important to me because I know that education empowers women in every aspect. Women who are not fortunate enough to go to school have little or no power in their lives.

From my previous fundraising efforts with UNICEF and Clean Water for All, I learned that it’s important to convey why you are fundraising for the cause that you’re championing. Now, for the Malala Fund, I try to show people why I support girls’ education and explain why it’s important.

So far, some of my family members, friends and social media followers have supported my campaign. Since October 2014, I have raised more than $1,600. I get the word out about my project through social media and my blog.

My goal is to raise $2,500 or more. People should donate to my campaign because its success will be further proof to the world that people of all ability can change the world.

Thank you Nisha for sharing your story with us! Good luck on reaching your goal.

Learn more about Nisha’s project and support her campaign on her site, Educate Generations.