1.

Nick Vujicic

BIOGRAPHY

Full name: Nicholas Vujicic (pronounced voo-yi-chich).

Born: December 4, 1982, Melbourne, Australia.

Children: Dejan Levi Vujicic, Kiyoshi James Vujicic, Olivia Mei Vujicic, Ellie Laurel Vujicic

He was born with an extremely rare congenital disorder known as Phocomelia, which is characterised
by the absence of legs and arms.

- Nick Vujicic is another world-famous celebrity with a disability, and founder of Life Without
Limbs - an organisation for people with physical disabilities.
- Meet Nicholas Vujicic without any medical explanation or warning, Nick was born in 1982 in
Melbourne, Australia, without arms and legs. Three sonograms failed to reveal
complications. And yet, the Vujicic family was destined to cope with both the challenge and
blessing of raising a son who refused to allow his physical condition to limit his lifestyle.

CHALLENGES/ DIFFICULTIES

- Nick struggled mentally, emotionally, and physically. Bullied at school, he attempted suicide
when he was just 10 years old.
- He faced bullying and teasing as well as self-image issues. At one point in his life, Nick
attempted to drown himself in his bathtub
-

ACHIEVEMENTS

- He is currently giving motivational talks around the world, has written several books and is a
regular on talk shows and TV programs. He became very famous when starring in the
touching short film "The Butterfly Circus".

The Butterfly Circus- The film is about encouraging people to believe in themselves and take
responsibility for themselves. It is not about enabling people by acting like they can't do things
themselves.
TV Shows

Unstoppable Faith- Hour of power Australia Adam hills ICSt – Nick Vujicic Interview- Episode 7

Pastor Kerry Shook Interviews Nick Vujicic

Books:

- Nick decided to become vocal about living with disabilities and finding hope and meaning in
life. The charismatic Australian now travels the world addressing huge crowds. He has
visited more than 57 countries and given over three thousand talks, some of which
have attracted audiences as large as 110,000 people.
Evangelist Nick Vujicic World Outreach Reaches 400 Milllion; Web Documentary Series
 - Nick has also founded an international non-profit organisation and ministry, , through which
he campaigns against bullying. He has also published his memoir Love Without Limits,
which is an international bestseller.
-

o In 2005, Nick made the long journey from Australia to southern California where he
founded Life Without Limbs. He is currently serving as President and CEO.
o He’s an author, musician, actor, and his hobbies include fishing, and swimming.

Famous Quotation:

"If God can use a man without arms and legs to be His hands and feet, then He will certainly use any
willing heart!"
 2. Stella Young
- Stella Jane Young was an Australian comedian, journalist and disability rights activist.

Born: February 24, 1982 in Stawell, Victoria, Australia

Died: December 6, 2014 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia

Birthname: Stella Jane Young

Disability: osteogenesis imperfecta, a genetic disorder that causes bones to break easily.

- Writer, comedian and advocate Stella Young was the editor of Ramp Up, an online space for
news, discussion and opinion about disability in Australia.
- With a strong interest in issues facing women and young people with disabilities, Young
worked with the Youth Disability Advocacy Service to establish the Live Access project,
advocating for better access to live music venues. She held a degree in journalism from
Deakin University and a Diploma of Secondary Education from the University of Melbourne.
Prior to joining the ABC, Stella worked in Public Programs at Melbourne Museum, where she
taught kids about bugs, dinosaurs and other weird and wonderful things.

CHALLENGES/ DIFFICULTIES:

- Young was born with a genetic disorder called osteogenesis imperfecta, which caused her
bones to easily break. She used a wheelchair for much of her life.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

- Stella Young was a regular presenting on "No Limits" between 2003 till 2010.
- At the age of fourteen, she began a life of advocacy for people living with disability, and was
an ambassador for Our Watch as well as a member of various boards and councils including
Victorian Disability Advisory Council, the Ministerial Advisory Council for the Department of
Victorian Communities, the Youth Disability Advocacy Service, and Women with Disabilities
Victoria.
- Stella was also a two-time state finalist in the Melbourne International Comedy Festival's
Raw Comedy competition, and hosted eight seasons of Australia's first disability culture
program, No Limits, on Channel 31. A regular contributor to ABC's The Drum since 2011, and
a correspondent for the 2012 Paralympics from London, Stella also wrote
for Mamamia and The Punch.

Famous Quotes:

I am not a snowflake. I am not a sweet, infantilising symbol of fragility and life. I am a strong, fierce,
flawed adult woman. I plan to remain that way, in life and in death.
 3. Stephen Hawking
- Stephen Hawking was one of the most well-known physicists in the world, and was
diagnosed with ALS when he was 21

BIOGRAPHY

Born: January 8, 1942 in Oxford, Oxforshire, England

Died: March 14, 2018 in Cambridge, Cambridgeshire

- Hawking received his B.A. in physics from University College, Oxford, and his M.A. from
Trinity Hall, Cambridge (Ph.D., 1966). He was named a research fellow at Cambridge's
Gonville and Caius College. Hawking was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, an
incurable degenerative neuromuscular illness, in the early 1960s. Despite the disease's
growing disability, he continued to work.

Hawking was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), commonly referred to in the U.S. as
Lou Gehrig's disease. As ALS progresses, the degeneration of motor neurons in the brain interfere with
messages to muscles in the body. Eventually, muscles atrophy and voluntary control of muscles is lost.

DIFFICULTIES/ CHALLENGES

- it was a significant challenge that Hawking lived with for more than 50 years, which is
astounding given the debilitating nature of the disease and the fact it is usually fatal within
five years of a diagnosis.
- His situation is constantly difficult since he requires 24-hour care and can only communicate
with the use of a computer equipment, which he operates with the residual muscles in his
cheek that he still controls.
- While in college, Hawking noticed that his health was slowly decreasing, along with him
occasionally tripping and slurring his words. He didn’t really see a problem with this.
- Doctors said he only had 2 and a half years to live.

HOW STEPHEN HAWKING OVERCOME HIS PROBLEMS

- “I try to lead as normal a life as possible, and not think about my condition, or regret the
things it prevents me from doing, which are not that many.” Although it would be easy to
think about what this disease has cost him, Hawking chose to focus on all that he still has.

ACHIEVEMENTS

- He proposed that black holes would emit subatomic particles until they eventually exploded.
 - He also wrote best-selling books, the most famous of which was A Brief History of Time:
From the Big Bang to Black Holes (1988).

- His in-depth studies of the universe, specifically the framework of general relativity and
quantum mechanics, became a popular introduction to the field for lay persons, and
Hawking was a popular figure in pop culture as well – appearing on hugely popular
television shows such as The Simpsons and Star Trek: The Next Generation
-

Books
Awards:

Adams Prize- 1966

Eddington Medal- 1975

Dannie Heinemen Prize for Mathematical Physics- 1976

Hughes Medal – 1976

Albert Einstein Award- 1978

Albert Einstein Medal- 1979

Order of the British Empire- 1982

Gold Medal of the Royal Astronomical Society- 1985

Dirac Model of the Institute of Physics- 1987

Wolf Prize in Physics – 1988

Princess of Asturias Award for Concord- 1989

James Clerk Maxwell Medal and Prize

Copley Medal- 2006

Fonseca Prize- 2008

Presidential Medal of Freedom- 2009

Audie Award for Science Fiction- 2019

Franklin Medal

Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics

His Theory

- Special Breakthrough Prize in Fundamental Physics (2013)

Famous Quotes:

- “However Difficult life may seem, there is always something you can do and succeed at. It
matters that you don’t just give up”.

4. Apolinario Mabini
(FILIPINO HERO)
- was a Filipino revolutionary leader, educator, lawyer, and statesman who served first as a
legal and constitutional adviser to the Revolutionary Government, and then as the first
Prime Minister of the Philippines upon the establishment of the First Philippine Republic.
- He is famous for being the theoretician and spokesman of the Philippine Revolution

BIOGRAPHY

Born: July 23, 1864 in Talaga, Tanauan, Batangas.

Siblings: Alejandro Mabini, Prudencio Mabini

Parents: Dionisia Maranan, Inocencio Mabini

- He was the second of eight children of Dionisia Maranan y Magpantay, a vendor in the
Tanauan market, and Inocencio Leon Mabini y Lira, an illiterate peasant.
- He is regarded as the "utak ng himagsikan" or "brain of the revolution" and is also
considered as a national hero in the Philippines. Mabini's work and thoughts on the
government shaped the Philippines' fight for independence over the next century.

Mabini was struck by polio in 1895, and the disease gradually incapacitated him until January 1896,
when he finally lost the use of both his legs.

CHALLENGES/ DIFFICULTIES:

- In 1896, Mabini contracted an illness that paralyzed his legs. When the Katipunan revolt
broke out late that year, the Spanish authorities arrested him for being a member of
Katipunan. Unknown to many, Mabini was not a member of Katipunan but of the reform
association of Jose Rizal, the La Liga Filipina.
- Icon for persons with disabilities. Mabini was not born a paralytic. “He contracted polio in
the first quarter of 1896 which caused his paralysis. He was only 31. It was an experience
that depressed him because it happened in his prime and he sought to actively help in the
revolution but his disability hampered him
- He experienced hardships in his entire student life. In his elementary days and first years in
high school, Mabini used to walk to traverse mountains, approximately six kilometers, to go
 to school in the town proper of Tanauan, Batangas. While studying at Colegio de San Juan
de Letran, he needed to stop several times due to financial constraints. In 1888, he enrolled
in the University of Santo Tomas to study law and finished his course in 1894.

ACHIEVEMENTS:

- Apolinario Mabini made the decree that established the Dictatorial Government of the
Philippines. He also made a decree which formalized the change from a Dictatorial
Government to a Revolutionary government.

- From his hammock and rattan chair, Mabini helped shape the Philippine Republic under
president Emilio Aguinaldo. Unable to fight on the battlefield due to paralysis in both legs,
Mabini instead used his brilliance through his written works to inspire Filipinos in pursuing
the struggle for Philippine independence.
- Support for public education. “Mabini valued his education very much,” 
- In a league of his own. “These contributions to society made Mabini a distinct man,
someone in a league of his own,” and “His voice served as hope to the Filipinos
longing for a better life.”
- Women’s rights. Mabini saw that the 1898 Malolos Congress was represented
wholly by male Filipinos. Thus, in Article 17 of the Malolos Constitution he drafted, he
included a provision stating the right of the women to vote and to study in public
institutions of learning.

Famous Quotes:

“Authority over the people resides, by natural law, in the people themselves.

5. Arturo A. Borjal
- The person’s willpower can help him ride through tough journeys in life. Take the case of the
late Atty. Art A. Borjal. Despite the odds his disability carried, was able to master each field
 that he ventured into. Through all these, his bottom-line was constant – fighting for the
dignity and rights of fellow Filipinos with disabilities.

BIOGRAPHY

Born: April 15, 1938 in La Paz, Abra

- In Ateneo de Manila University, he was the bespectacled brainy guy with leg braces and
crutches. Before he finished Law, he was the school paper's Editor-in-Chief and President of
the Debating Team and the Supreme Student Council. As a journalist, he won an array of
awards from distinctive award-giving bodies.
- Borjal received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Humanities and Bachelor of laws degrees from
the Ateneo de Manila University, where he was editor of the school paper and president of
the student council. He was also a member of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
o After graduation, he became a presidential speechwriter and an official of both the
executive and the legislative. He was also president of the City College of Manila.

CHALLENGES/ DIFFICULTIES

- His mother carried him on her back just so he could go to school. In Ateneo de
Manila University, he was the bespectacled brainy guy with leg braces and crutches. 
- Stricken with polio at age three and dependent on crutches and a wheelchair from then on,
he overcame his difficulties to become the leg on which several charitable institutions stood
on

ACHIEVEMENTS:

- he won an array of awards from distinctive award-giving bodies. He was the Rotary Club of
Manila’s Newspaperman of the Year, Catholic Mass Media Awards 1986 Best Opinion
Columnist, Philippine Foundation for the Rehabilitation of Disabled 1991 Special Apolinario
Mabini Presidential Awardee, City Government of Manila’s 1981 Outstanding Citizen of
Manila and Ateneo de Manila University’s 1961 Distinguished Leadership Awardee. He was
the first Filipino journalist ever elected as President of the Manila Overseas Club and the
National Press Club at the same time.
- From 1991 to 2002, he led winnable teams to different host countries of International
Abilympics (IAs) or Olympics of work abilities of PWD competitors. This task, he fondly
turned over to respected friends he called his holy trinity before he succumbed to cancer
- He was the disability sector big champ, representing the interests of PWDs at the local and
global fronts. As a Commissioner of the National Council Concerning Disabled Persons
(NCCDP) now NCDA, he also assumed on the Presidency of Tahanang Walang Hagdanan
(TWH), and was the Chairman of Gulong sa Pagsulong project from 1995-1997.
-
References:

NICK VUJICIC

[Link]

[Link]

STELLA YOUNG

[Link]
young-australian-disability-advocate-and-comedian/

STEPHEN HAWKING

[Link]

APOLINARIO MABINI

[Link]
%20the%20life,revolutionary%20exigency%20during%20his%20time.

ARTURO BORJAL

[Link]
%20Club,Manila%20and%20Ateneo%20de%20Manila