My name is Jackline Ndungwa Waiharo, a young woman born with a disability known as scoliosis kyphosis, also known as a “hunchback” in layman’s language. I noticed I was very different at a very tender age because, for the better part of my childhood, I lived with my grandmother in a village in Kangundo, Machakos County, and she wouldn’t let me do any heavy chores with my cousins. My advocacy journey began in late 2018 when I joined the Gifted Community Center, a grassroots organization that champions the rights of young people with disabilities, especially those from underserved communities in Kenya. Before GCC, I had not thought of championing for our rights, I felt useless, my confidence was low, I had low self-esteem and self-love wasn’t a vocabulary to me but in GCC I met people like me and through the weekly capacity trainings, Twitter chats,whatsApp group chats and inspiring stories (peer to peer mentorship) from other young persons with disabilities who had made it in life, I told myself that I matter and I was enough and from then, my journey began. I began attending training where I would go and represent persons with disabilities. I became the voice for the voiceless; my public speaking skills continued to improve day by day, and I started seeing myself as important. I networked more, and I started receiving invitations to speak to various individuals with and without disabilities in different forums, where I would motivate, mentor, and advise them on various matters. Professionally, I am a teacher. Through the capacity building described above, I gained confidence to share with my pupils about disability. You see, in my school, my pupils are always curious about my disability and are very inquisitive, but the first thing I do is open up to them and talk about my disability, and guide them on how to treat children and adults with disabilities. This has fostered a good rapport among us. My secret is to always talk about my disability whenever I meet new people to create inclusiveness and awareness. Since accepting myself, I have accessed many different opportunities: I have had the privilege to work with the former Member of County Assembly Kinoo as a representative of persons with disabilities in the bursary committee from 2017 to 2019. I got the opportunity to attend last year’s ICPD-25 side events organized by Population Bureau Reference (PRB) of the USA, where I talked about challenges facing young women with disabilities when accessing Sexual Reproductive and Health Rights (SRHR). I have been a facilitator at Decent Conversations, an organization that raises awareness on SRHR. I also networked and met a representative of Special Olympics Kenya, who asked me to speak at one of their events. Through the GCC WhatsApp platform, where many opportunities are shared, in 2019, I learnt about the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF), the prestigious program founded by former US president Barack Obama in 2010, and I applied. Fortunately, I got it. MWF is very competitive, and I have been honored to be a fellow since 2022 at Georgia State University under the Public Management track. I also applied for the Young African Leaders Initiative Regional Center East Africa (YALI RLC EA) cohort 39, and I was a successful candidate.I received all these opportunities due to my involvement with GCC. Due to the pandemic, the programs were conducted virtually. My reason for applying to these opportunities is to amplify our voices and ensure inclusivity. It’s also a way of involving and speaking to the community that persons with disabilities can do anything that others without disability can do. It’s a message to the community that instead of them seeing our disabilities first, they should see us. I have built networks of over 100 professionals, providing training and guidance on enhancing inclusion in their schools and communities. As my advocacy journey continued and I moved to Nakuru, where I started my own organisation, Safe Haven Spaces, a Kenyan-based women's and youth with disabilities-led non-profit organisation, born from the realisation that children with disabilities face numerous challenges in accessing or staying in school. Safe Haven Spaces advocates for sexual reproductive and health rights services amongst women and girls with disabilities. It equips young people with disabilities in Nakuru, Kenya, with hope, opportunity, and skills. It also empowers children with disabilities who are facing challenges that prevent them from going to school by ensuring that they get quality education. I can’t compare myself now with when I started my advocacy journey. I am more confident, eloquent, and I am always championing for us everywhere I go. I look for inclusivity everywhere, and I am always speaking about it in every corner. I am a preacher of inclusivity, and I am sure one day we shall attain it fully without discrimination. We are far from it because when a person with a disability like myself does a task, e.g., an exercise, making it in life, going shopping, farming, etc., society sees this as a miracle; people should know that we are different and not less. We can participate in any activity given as long as the environment is friendly. In fact, the environment is making us more disabled than our disabilities. My dream one day is to join the parliament and represent persons with disabilities, be their voice, mentor, and above all, instill and ensure change in the society, for there is no us without us. My advice to parents is to teach their children about disability, talk to them about us, and through this, I am confident that the future generation will be more inclusive. Finally, I believe in “I CAN'T BLEND IN WHEN I WAS BORN TO STAND OUT.” I am a GCC ambassador 2018-To date, 2021 Mandela Washington Fellowship Alumni, a 2023 NextGen Tech Camp alumni, a 2022 Alumni Enrichment Institute program, a cohort 39 Young African Leaders Initiative-regional leadership center (YALI RLC), a Young African Leaders Initiative Legal Legacy(YALILL) consultancy, and the Founder and CEO of Safe Haven Spaces.