At just 18, she had felt in charge and was in control of her life–with a promising career, endless opportunities, and big dreams which seemed to be within reach.
But as fate would have it, a motor car accident would turn her life upside down.
Fast forward to today, Rojo Gabriellah Ny Andoniaina , an emerging dedicated African leader whom I met and interacted with at the recent Young African Leaders Initiative Regional Leadership Centre for Southern Africa (YALI RLC-SA) fellowship, has vowed to reclaim her narrative through championing inclusivity and the welfare of people living with disabilities and has dedicated herself to becoming a voice of change in Africa.
A 5th-year public law student from Antananarivo in Madagascar currently preparing her master's degree at Madagascar’s national distance learning center, her keen desire to dismantle discriminatory practices and create a more inclusive society is propelling her to join her country’s Ministry Support Department for People with disabilities and advocate for the integration of comprehensive support programs for people living with disabilities into public policies.
Gabriellah has been actively involved with the Junior Chamber International (JCI) Mayendeleyo for three years where she has spearheaded projects in education, youth skills development, mental health, public speaking, and more.
Currently, she is the chapter’s local president. Her experience as a civic leader has solidified her passion for serving humanity, especially in capacity building for youths and people living with disabilities.
She says she felt torn apart and almost gave up when one fateful day, a motor accident would change her life.
“Eighteen. The world was mine. Eighteen, career, college, endless opportunities, big dreams – everything was within reach until it wasn't. On one fateful day, or was it a cursed day? I don't know, I can never decide which one it is, but that day my life turned upside down, just like the car that overturned on itself, taking all my dreams away with it”
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She added that the accident made her question her purpose or her reason for existence and felt like she had become a shell of herself, shattered as she struggled to adapt to her new reality.
“Overnight, my life was irrevocably altered. That day, I left home full of energy and life, and two months later, I came back a shell of myself, confined to a wheelchair, lost and broken. There were so many unanswered questions about my identity. What am I supposed to do now? Where do I go from here? What is my purpose in life? I was utterly lost and adrift. And the cruelest irony is that life kept moving on, completely oblivious to my shattered self and existence. So, I had to adapt and learn to navigate a new reality, leaving my old life behind as just a whisper of a memory”
It was this new reality, of having to adapt to being confined in a wheelchair, that she went into self-seclusion for two years, becoming a prisoner of herself, until a friend awakened her to take charge of her destiny.
“And then I went into self-seclusion for two years, closing in on myself, becoming a prisoner of my despair until a friend's brutal honesty forced me back into the world again. "Snap out of it," he said.
"Who's gonna save you but yourself ?"
Gabriellah says this brutal awakening moment felt like a big slap.
“It was harsh, but it was necessary. So I did it. I stepped back into the world. I faced my fears. I faced the terrifying spotlight of public life. It was a daunting ordeal, and it still is, but I persevered.
So, I decided to rejoin JCI Mayendeleyo. My skills landed me five projects to coordinate. And let me tell you, being a woman with a disability leading five able-bodied men is challenging.
Doubt gnawed at me all the time, keeping me up at night, wondering if I would be able to pull this off, if I was deserving of this position.
How was I going to grasp the reality of the projects when I couldn't even go on-site?
She said she changed her mindset and immediately began focusing on possibilities and things she could control.
“So, what did I do? I decided to focus on what I could control and refused to dwell on my limitations. My goal was to prove to myself, first and foremost, that my disability doesn't define my ability. And from that moment on, I learned and learned and constantly improved myself”
Her vision for the future
Gabriellah says her vision is for JCI Mayendeleyo to become a catalyst for positive change in Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar.
JCI Mayendeleyo has partnered with key stakeholders, including the Ministry of National Education, the French Institute of Madagascar, the US Embassy, the UNESCO National Commission, the Federation of Oratory and Debate Clubs of Antananarivo, local news media, and local civil society groups.
Gabriellah also emerged as the pitch winner under the civic leadership track where she shared her desire to improve lack of access to higher education for people living with disabilities through improving their professional standing in the workforce.
Cognisant of the underrepresentation of people living with disabilities at her university, Gabriellah said she intended to launch the RISE ("Reimagine Inclusion & Secure Employment") program–a certified digital skills incubation for youth with motor disabilities in Antananarivo.
Gabriellah’s story is one of resilience and one of a woman who refused to be defined by her circumstances and is emerging as a change driver both in her society and country at large.
- Fungayi Antony Sox is the founder and managing partner at TisuMazwi–a consulting, communications, media, and publishing company based in Harare. He is also a recently inducted Alumnus of the Yali Regional Leadership Centre for Southern Africa. For feedback, he can be reached on +263 776 030 949 or on LinkedIn at Fungayi Antony Sox.
