Film
Rise Up!
Diana Ma’aharo Champions Inclusion For Women and Girls with Disabilities in the Solomon Islands
Read our instructions on how to watch the video on Able Player.
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
Filmmaker: Melvina Voua
Melvina Voua is involved in many volunteer activities with youth groups, women’s groups and people with disabilities in her community. A woman with a physical disability, she is a member of People with Disability Solomon Islands (PWDSI), the umbrella body of organizations for people with disabilities in the Solomon Islands. PWDSI advocates for, promotes and protects the rights of persons with disabilities.
From 2020 to 2022, Voua was employed by PWDSI as a part-time climate change officer to be the point person for the Pacific Disability Forum (PDF) where she carried out research on the impacts of climate change on people with disabilities in the Solomon Islands. By involving herself in the research, she continues to advocate for disability inclusion in humanitarian projects around disaster readiness, climate adaptation and mitigation actions with PWDSI partners and stakeholders.
More videos
Without Warning
About this video: NEW RELEASE: For Deaf Nigerians caught in conflict, the difference between safety and danger can be a warning that never comes.
In Harm’s Way
About this video: NEW RELEASE: As Nigeria's growing insecurity crisis deepens, disabled people face barriers that can make reaching safety impossible.
Right To Vote
About this video: UGANDA: Uganda has made strides in increasing political representation for people with disabilities, but for many disabled voters, access to the ballot remains out of reach.
Rising Tides, Raising Voices
About this video: SAMOA: Indigenous Pacific Islanders with disabilities race against time so that when the next disaster strikes, no one is left behind.
Who’s Watching the Government?
About this video: NEW ZEALAND: World Institute on Disability Fellow Robbie Francis Watene highlights the urgent need for disabled-led monitoring of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilties.
Changing Land
About this video: NEW RELEASE: Once green and dependable, the land Steven Bukaya farms has been reshaped by deforestation and unpredictable rain.