YOUTH VOICES: Chaeli Mycroft
Impossible is nothing for 21-year-old ability activist, Chaeli Mycroft who has ticked off the Comrades Marathon, held at the end of May 2016, as another bucket list experience.
Michaela 'Chaeli' Mycroft is the co-founder of a non-profit organization, The Chaeli Campaign, which offers vocational and learning support to children with disabilities.
Finishing the race at a time of 10 hours, 51 minutes and 45 seconds, Chaeli became one of two wheelchair athletes to ever complete the Comrades Marathon as part of a runner team. This is the second gruelling challenge she has conquered in as many years.
Chaeli also became the first female quadriplegic to summit Africa's highest mountain Mount Kilimanjaro after a seven-day climb last year.
Growing up, Mycroft - who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy as a baby - saw a need for kids with special needs to receive the same resources and opportunities as abled-bodied children. This is now achieved through this campaign - whose CEO is Chaeli's mum, Zelda. It has since grown to support eight different projects.
With a focus on awareness, Chaeli, the International Children's Peace Prize awardee and student, believes in changing perceptions about what people with disabilities can achieve.
The Chaeli Campaign, of which she is now the face, began when Mycroft, her sister and friends started The Chaeli Campaign to raise money for a motorised wheelchair for her.
It has also grown to include an array of programmes including therapy and inclusive education and provides support to kids with disabilities in disadvantaged communities.
Listen to Portia Cele's full interview with Chaeli and her mum and CEO of The Chaeli Campaign below.
