Date Released: Wed, 6 March 2013 10:41 +0200

Courageous woman shows youngsters what is possible

SHE may be disabled but it hasn't stopped Michaela "Chaeli" Mycroft from following her dreams and doing what many able-bodied people would not dream of doing.

Despite being confined to a wheelchair since birth after being diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Chaeli has become a global poster girl for the disabled by trying her hand at everything - from joining the Brownies movement to sand boarding, championship ballroom dancing and horse riding.

She is even entering the gruelling Argus cycle tour this Sunday. "I have always been a bit of a wild child who did things that disabled people don't often do," she told a group of Graeme College matriculants yesterday.

Last year the inspiring teenager became a global ambassador for the disabled when she was awarded a prestigious International Children's Peace Prize and Nobel medal for her work improving the lives of special needs kids.

Invited by Rhodes University to Grahamstown to deliver the keynote Human Rights Week lecture on Sunday night, she spent several hours yesterday visiting local schools to deliver her message of hope to able bodied youngsters.

Chaeli soon had the audience eating from the palms of her buckled hands as they listened to how she rubbed shoulders with international celebrities like Sean Penn, Bill Clinton, Jimmy Carter, and the "hot gay guy" from the 90210 television series.

During her talk she explained how what started as a simple campaign in 2004 - four friends decided to sell miniature pot plants to raise R20 000 to buy her a fancy automated wheelchair - quickly blossomed into the internationally acclaimed Chaeli Campaign, which helps 3 000 disabled children a year to realise their dreams by giving them hope - and wheelchairs and other equipment free of charge.

Despite having all the odds seemingly stacked against her from birth, the 18-year-old top student has continually bucked the system, and she recently became the first disabled student to be allowed to stay in a residence at the University of Cape Town. She has a full-time live-in personal assistant who helps her wash and dress for lectures.

Chaeli's proud mother Zelda said it was wonderful her daughter had gained her independence and was following her university dreams despite having the odds seemingly stacked against her. This was achieved by getting her out into the world doing everyday things - instead of cocooning her from life by sitting at home or attending special needs schools.

Chaeli's mother said she has always encouraged her daughter to get out into the world and live as normal a life as possible and it has paid off big time - not just for the amazing teen but also for thousands of others too. — davidm@dispatch.co.za.

Caption: INSPIRATION: Chaeli Mycroft tells her story at Graeme College yesterday

Story and Picture by: DAVID MACGREGOR

Source: Daily Dispatch