For many years we have heard of stories of people with disabilities making it to the very top because they never considered themselves helpless and most definitely not incapable.

It was very heartwarming to see the children of Loto Taumafi on their graduation day. They were all smiles, surrounded by the love of family and teachers; the people who have supported them and believe in them.

That perhaps is one of the key reasons why these children have not stopped believing in themselves and continue to pursue education with the overall aim to enjoy a good life.

The parents and guardians of these children have to be commended for allowing their children the right to education and giving them the opportunity to change the mindset of many in Samoa.

This is the same mindset that has for many years not allowed children with disabilities to leave their homes and enjoy the opportunities that other children are getting.

It is definitely worrying to note that persons with disabilities are five times more likely to have never attended school in Samoa compared to persons without disabilities.

We are trying to live in a world of inclusion where there should be equal opportunities for everyone, then why is there a disparity.

A board member of the school highlighted how parents struggled to bring their children to school because they lived so far away that even their transport was unable to get them to the school.

Funny enough, there is no specific legislation protecting the rights of persons with disabilities. Samoa is not a party to the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities yet and former Governments indicated that they would consider acceding to it.

The Samoan Constitution however, states that all persons are equal under the law and disability was not a ground for discrimination.

Disability laws and acts are instruments through which countries abolish discrimination against persons with disabilities and eliminate barriers towards the full enjoyment of their rights and their inclusion in society. These laws and acts contribute to progress towards the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in national legislation.

Such legislation contributes also towards the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the pledge of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to leave no one behind.

We need to ensure that no one is really left behind and to change the mindset of those who feel that a disability is a hindrance to life.

There is something we need to remember that as the population ages, people will experience some form of disability.

In 2011, the World Health Organisation came up with a world report on disability for the first time. Its introduction showed how disabled persons aren’t “other people”, but that all of us at some point will be “temporarily or permanently impaired” and those “who survive to old age will experience increasing difficulties in functioning.”

More than one billion people worldwide experience disability, and this number is growing, driven by increased numbers of people with non-communicable diseases, who are also living longer and aging with limitations in functioning.

Do remember that Samoa has had an age-old relationship with NCDs.

Going back to the children and allowing them the opportunities in life is something that can be done immediately even without having to change the laws, which takes a lot of time. The Government surely needs to be more active, so does the church and society itself.

Here is a list of people with disabilities who with opportunities have proven that they are not “other people.”

Stephen Hawking was one of the most famous scientists the world has ever seen who was confined to a special wheelchair mounted with a computer that used to speak for him. He had lost speech due to ALS. Prof Hawking was an eminent theoretical physicist who made significant breakthroughs about the functioning of the universe. Discovery of Hawking radiation is among several of his important scientific contributions.

Franklin D. Roosevelt was the 32nd President of the United States. In 1921, Roosevelt contracted polio and his legs became permanently paralyzed. Nevertheless he served as the President from 1933 until his death in 1945.

Nick Vujicic was born on 4 December 1982 in Melbourne, Australia. He was born with phocomelia, a rare disorder characterized by the absence of arms and legs. Despite all the struggle that came with such a disability, Nick graduated from Griffith University at the age of 21. He married Kanae Miyahara on 12 February 2012. The couple now has four children.

There are many others in this list who have gone to become sportspeople, movie actors, singers and songwriters, mathematicians, engineers and academics.

If provided the right pathway, one day a Samoan child who was given the right pathway, will have his name in that list.