Amna Raheel, the girl who made her wheelchair her wings.

Karachi: Born a normal baby Amna Raheel was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy at the age of two.

“I was a normal baby when I was born but when I turned two I never crawled. I could not walk fast, could not run fast. Then I have diagnosed with this disease muscular dystrophy which means that my muscles are weak. Till the age of 12, I could walk. But when I turned 12 I got hit with another disease called lordosis because of that I could not walk and got a wheelchair-bound.”

With disability, came difficulties

“My childhood was tough for me. I did not understand myself why am I different, why could I not do things which other children could. My self-esteem was low. Children used to tease me in school and they would laugh at me.”

“When I was in a wheelchair I realized there are lot more troubles for people like us. There is no place in Karachi where you can easily go. That is one thing I want to get rid of, and one thing I would want to stand up for. If the library was on the top floor I couldn’t go and I used to stay in my class or if the canteen was somewhere outside I didn’t use to go and stay in my class.”

But she fought with everything like a true warrior. Having completed her BBA from one of the top universities in Pakistan, Amna is currently doing her MBA.

“I want to tell the world that people like us are not “poor.” We are just like any normal person. We feel the same, we think the same and, we live the same.”

If I can inspire even one person by sharing my story, I’ll consider sharing my story worthwhile

Recently having gotten invited to TedX Islamabad there is nothing that can stop her. 

“Recently I got an invite from TedX Islamabad as a motivational speaker and I feel you can motivate people with your words and there is a dire need of such people in the world; positive people.”

Learning always to be thankful

“We think that what we have is very less but if we look at our life from someone else’s point of view we will realize that we have a lot. This is why we should always thank God.”

Amna is exactly the source of inspiration many of us need in our lives. More power to her, today and always!