Meet Haben Girma. She is just 27 but has already challenged herself and existing norms and carved a place for herself in society. She is proof that if you set your mind to something, you can definitely achieve it. Haben Girma hails from in Eritrea, a country in the Eastern region of the African continent. However, being born deaf-blind, she did not have a lot of opportunities for growth and for advancing in her country. There were no schools for the specially physically disabled and it would not have been possible for Haben to get the education she desired. Haben’s older brother, also born deaf-blind could not go to a school as there were no such institutions.
After the disappointments, her family moved to USA and that is where she was born. Thanks to the USA Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), she was able to secure an admission in a school specially created for the deaf-blind and other such physical disabilities.Haben first did her Bachelor of Arts (B.A), magna cum laude, in 2010 from Lewis & Clark College. After that. She got her J.D degree (Juris Doctor) which is the first professional graduate degree in Law (equivalent to the Indian LL.B) from Harvard in 2013. She is a true inspiration and an example to all other aspiring students with physical disabilities.
Today, she is a successful attorney who advocated for civil rights of persons with disabilities. Haben has even been invited to TedEx conferences where she has given speeches and has even been to the White House to address the audience during the 25th year celebration of Americans with Disabilities Act. Talking at the anniversary, she said, “For my grandmother back in Africa, my success in law school seemed like magic.”
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