Dressed in a glittering white dress, 14-year-old Chaeli Mycroft smiles as her dance partner Jesse Randalhoff spins her around in her wheelchair, to the sound of some foot tapping Latin American rhythms.
The young pair entertained corporate guests at a fundraising breakfast held in Johannesburg last Friday where they showed off the moves that earned them a 3rd place medal in Ballroom and a 5th place medal in Latin Dance at the 2008 World Cup Wheelchair Dance Competition, held in the Netherlands earlier this year.
At just 11 months old Chaeli (pronounced Kylie) was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and a degenerative neuropathy which affects the muscles in her arms and legs, subjecting her to life in a wheelchair.
In spite of her disability Chaeli is a shining example of what can be achieved by the will of the human spirit.
In 2004 Chaeli, her sister Erin and their close friends the Terry sisters (Tarryn, Justine and Chelsea), raised R20 000 in just seven weeks to buy Chaeli a motorised wheelchair. The team of fundraisers were all between the ages of 6 and 12 at the time. Their efforts were the start of what is now known as the Chaeli Campaign; the only Non-Profit Organisation in South Africa founded and run by children.
From their offices in Plumstead, Cape Town, the young Chaeli Campaigners, with the help of adult administrators, work actively to develop the minds and bodies of children with disabilities. In the past four years the organisation has provided assistive devices such as wheelchairs, hearing aids and special laptops to over 200 children and has implemented physiotherapy programmes in four previously disadvantaged communities.
"Its hard work sometimes, but its lots of fun," says 13 year old Justine, who along with other members of the organisation is involved in creating fundraising products such as beaded keyrings, chocolate lollies, gift cards decorated with Erin and Chaeli's artwork, and Sunshine Pots (DIY miniature pot plants.)
The Chaeli Campaign has not gone unnoticed. The team's efforts have earned them the 2004 Louis Volks Humanitarian Award and the Nation Builder of the Year Award in the 2006 Proudly South African Homegrown Awards.
In 2005 Chaeli became the youngest ever finalist in the Shoprite Checkers/SABC 2 Woman of the Year Awards.
Zelda Mycroft, CEO of the Chaeli Campaign and Chaeli's mother, says a key part of the organisation's work is to create a framework for inclusion and diversity. "Our focus is on differently-abled children, not disabled children. We want to speak to people's abilities, what they can do, instead of what they can't do. Chaeli will never be able to walk. But why focus on that? There are so many other things she can do."
Chaeli and Jesse's dance on Friday certainly proved that.
"Lots of people think that disabled people can't dance. I hope they learn from us not to discriminate. Chaeli can dance," said seventeen year old Jesse.
As Chaeli herself has said, "My greatest strength is that I believe I can do anything."
To find out more about the Chaeli Campaign and to support the initiative, visit www.chaelicampaign.co.za.
