Diana Ma’aharo Champions Inclusion For Women and Girls with Disabilities in the Solomon Islands

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Women with disabilities in the Solomon Islands face significant barriers to education and employment. Diana Ma’ahoro experienced this lack of opportunity firsthand as she searched for a job that would allow her to independently support herself. She enrolled in a program called Girls Rise Up! Young Women’s Leadership Workshop, launched in 2010 by the YWCA in the Solomon Islands to equip young women with leadership and advocacy skills. Ma’ahoro was the first woman with a disability to participate in the program. “They trained me, [molded] me, and mentored me to become a good model in Solomon Islands,” she says. After completing the workshop, Ma’ahoro founded her own organization, the Disability Women’s Empowerment Association (DWEA), to focus exclusively on women and girls with disabilities and their inclusion in the Solomon Islands.

Editing assistance by Desmond LaFave