"There is no impossible!": the story of a young woman with disability who has turned limitations into opportunities

The girl has learned to face her disability with great courage, while skills and perseverance are the key elements to success in her aspirations. The fact that she sees only 50% with both eyes is not an impediment for her to be active and engaged.

Throughout her school years she has been a member of student councils, and for two years now she has been a volunteer with the National Youth Platform for Active Participation. She is passionate about chemistry, chess, and painting, excited to meet new people, and participate in personal and community development projects. Iuliana is convinced that discrimination and marginalization have no place in a modern society, while young people with disabilities deserve to be encouraged and supported in achieving their aspirations.

Accepting your own disability is the hardest, but also the most rewarding 

Iuliana was born and lives in Bardar, Ialoveni. She finished village secondary school, and now commutes daily to Ialoveni, where she studies in the 11th grade at high school. Both she and her brother and younger sister have pigmentary retinopathy, a genetic disorder that affects peripheral and night vision. 

"I was very angry with my eyesight until the age of 13. Now I have a different attitude. I have learned to accept my limitations, not to view them as barriers or problems. I accept myself and I know that there are all kinds of opportunities out there for me.” 

During her teenage years she felt bullied, marginalized, while the number of her friends became smaller. 

"I remember having a bunch of classmates with whom we used to go out in the evenings. If the sun went down, I had to ask someone to help me find my way, to hold my hand, because I could not see. At first, it seemed a joke to everyone, then I noticed that they stopped inviting me, and that at school they would make jokes about me", tells Iuliana.

Now she says she does not have many friends, but she cares a lot about the peers she implements community and volunteer projects with. 

"It hurt most, when I had to give up basketball and volleyball. I used to be on the team until the 8th grade and I like these sports very much, but because of my eyesight I could not dribble, I would almost always stand by the basket and I could not be a good player for the team. So, I have found an occupation that would fill this void and give me the sense of fulfillment - volunteering."

I find it trivial for a young person just to do homework and commute from home to school and back 

Throughout her school years, Iuliana has been a member of student councils, and participated in various school projects.

"When I was in the 8th grade, I applied for a grant, which I got together with the village hall. Thanks to this grant, we installed garbage bins on the outskirts of the village and procured mobile dumpsters to be used at special events", recalls the girl enthusiastically. "This experience strongly motivated me to engage. And I have managed to do that. It was wow!”

Two years ago, together with a classmate, she had an interview with the National Youth Platform for Active Participation, a non-governmental youth organization with the goal of improving the culture of young people’s participation in decision-making processes at institutional, local and central levels.

She was accepted as a volunteer and starting with August this year she has been coordinating the platform's Human Resource Department.

I want to be engaged and active, to inspire!

"I remember the first events with the platform. I met young people who talked so enthusiastically about what they were doing, and I said to myself: I want to be active too! 😊". Nowadays, with so many opportunities, I find it trivial to be just a high school student and do your homework and commute from home to school and back", says Iuliana.

Her engagement as a volunteer has offered her unique experiences and trainings in areas such as leadership, financial education, time management, project writing, etc. "Thanks to volunteering, I have been to Chisinau, met ambassadors, famous people, and extraordinary young people. I have overcome my shyness. I love being me with myself in this world full of so many wonderful things", confesses the protagonist smiling.

The new role within the platform involves several responsibilities: to carry out recruitment interviews, learning and team building activities, certain organizational steps as part of large events. "I come to Chisinau every Saturday, sometimes even twice a week", tells Iuliana. “My parents encourage me, and I am extremely happy with my achievements.”

Iuliana is also passionate about chemistry, which is "more than just an object studied at school," she says. She dreams of becoming a chemist researcher.

Also, she paints with gouache and acrylic. Extremely modest, she talks about her favorite works and the new painting she is working on at the moment.

Iuliana also plays chess. She has her chess class every Sunday in Ialoveni. From the 5th grade, she has been competing at the district level, while in the last three years she has been taking the top (1st and 2nd) places in district competitions.

 To the question whether Moldova is an inclusive country for young people with disabilities, Iuliana is optimistic, considering that discrimination has no place in a modern society. 

"I believe that the authorities and adults in particular have the role of not ignoring discrimination and bullying, just as they would not ignore a theft, for example. It would be good if influencers also promoted social messages in addition to selling products, because they are the ones who shape opinions", says the girl with a strong conviction.

"I would encourage my peers, young people with disabilities, to have courage, to overcome fakes, myths, inhibition. There are no barriers on the way to dreams, unless we create them ourselves. I would especially advise their parents to motivate them to try, discover, engage. There is no impossible!”

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This story is part of the UN Moldova awareness raising campaign ”Stand for Inclusion of Persons with Disabilities – No One Must Be Left Behind." An initiative that is part of the UN ongoing efforts to promote the inclusive and meaningful participation of persons with disabilities in all their diversity in decision-making processes at all levels. 

The story was developed with the financial support of the UN Human Rights Moldova within the project "Paradigm Shift to Disability Inclusive Services, Accountability and Governance in Moldova", implemented by UN Human Rights Moldova, UNDP Moldova, and UNICEF Moldova funded by to the United Nations Partnership for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD). The views expressed in the paper do not necessarily reflect the official opinion of the UN Human Rights or the UNPRPD.