Disabled, but not different

She was born with kyphosis scoliosis but she does not feel pity or sorry for herself. Asteria Frans has plans of becoming an event hostess and also of shooting her own movie in the future.

Asteria Frans is 19 and was born and raised in Oniipa in the Oshikoto Region. She is a student at the University of Science and Technology (Nust) and is studying towards a degree in English. She credits fear and prosperity as some of the sources of motivation in life. On fear she says: “This may sound ominous and black but right now fear is the only thing that drives me. The idea that where I am currently might be where I''ll see myself in another year scares me so much. The fear of failing myself after having worked so many sleepless countless nights… this is a motivation worth my all.” On prosperity Frans shares: “I am quietly motivated by just prosperity, when I see someone prosper in their life, I am motivated to move the ladder up one more time.” She further says her biggest motivation in life is her mom because she urges her to “push harder” in life.

Kyphosis scoliosis is a spinal deformity that occurs in a single plane and is usually in three dimensions. It is often described as a three-dimensional torsional deformity of the spine and trunk. It is a condition and disability Frans says does not define who she is. “I could complain about it or blame things that happen to me because of it, but I don''t. I don''t let people get to me because I know I am a child of God and that He loves me,” said Frans.

She says growing up with her disability, she never felt any different from everyone else and she was treated equally. “To be honest, I enjoyed growing up with this because it got me so much attention and yes, you guessed right, I love attention,” said Frans. She says her hunchback is not an embarrassment but a badge of honour. “I enjoyed always having gotten special attention all the time, I remember once; I got to sit on a couch at a career fair while the rest of the people were standing. It is people that treat us special, like the way we are, that make the world a better place,” said Frans. She said she never worried about the attention that her disability brought but rather enjoyed getting noticed by people.

Frans revealed she has never felt sorry or guilty for herself because of her disability. “I never allow myself to pity how I am because I feel special that God chose me out of all the others to give me this disability. God knew I could handle it better than you, so why should I pity myself over a gift greater than diamonds?” shared Frans. She says it is wrong for people like her and those with disabilities to be labelled as “disabled” because it is incorrect. “I don''t even feel ''disabled'' is the right word to describe special people like me. I feel when we are called disabled, we are being limited. It''s all in the mind, I choose to call myself special because my mindset says I am able,” said Frans

Asteria says because she is “outspoken” she would never allow anyone to discriminate againist her because of her disability. “Being the outspoken person I am, I can never allow myself to be discriminated against, at least not just by anybody. But I must say I feel discriminated rather against the benefits of the disabled people in Namibia because countless times they have denied me the disability pension,” said Asteria. She believes her confidence and the fact that she has a positive outlook on life is the reason why she has not been able to get a disability fund. “I feel when I go apply for it, my confidence intimidates them that they always send me back with excuses not worth mentioning. I feel like our nation thinks just because one is disabled, they must be miserable and suffering in order to get this pension, and from my point of view, I think it shouldn''t be like that,” says Frans.

Frans has many hobbies. She enjoys going out and making new friends, and says she enjoys eating a lot. Amongst her list of hobbies her favourite one is reading novels. “I enjoy doing many things, but to name a few, I enjoy reading novels very much because I like how novels take me to places I''ve never been to,” said Frans.

Frans says the only challenge for her thus far as a disabled person is the fact that able-bodied people treat her with pity something she does not approve of. “So far, the only problem I have encountered is the way the ''abled bodies'' treat us as if we are useless. If there''s anything everyone must know about us, the disabled, we don''t like pity, and pity shrinks us and is very bad for our self-esteem,” shared Frans. She says the one thing that lets her overcome her challenges as a disabled person is her confidence. “My confidence helps overcome all that is thrown at me. My confidence is my biggest weapon. One should be able to stand up for who they are, what they like and so forth,” said Frans.

She advises able-bodied people to get to know disabled people and to never make fun of them. “Get to know the person first before you joke around with them, because your kind of fun might be what I consider an insult,” said Frans. She continued with her advice: “I advise you, first ask if the person is okay to talk about his/her disability and then discuss it with him/her and throughout make mental notes on their weakest points and make sure to never press those buttons,” said Frans.

Frans says the disabled should not feel limited or belittled based on what people say about them. “Don''t limit yourself from whatever you like, if it is music, go make music, if it''s dancing, please dance. It''s your choice to live a happy life or to let life live you. And keep in mind that where there is life, there is ability, so you are able,” said Frans.





Shona Ngava