Imagine being born without a right arm and poor eyesight and ending up representing your country at top world sports events as a swimmer. That's the story of 17-year-old Ugandan Husna Kukundakwe. Husna, who competed in the Paris 2024 Paralympics, says she hopes her success will encourage parents to support their disabled children. #GirlZOffMute #DWAfrica #The77Percent
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00:00Hey there, my name is Abigail Momonji. Today on Girls of Myth, I'll be talking to Husna
00:16Kukunda Kwe. The 17-year-old Paralympic swimming star has competed in both national and international
00:21sports despite her disability, making my country proud. Husna, you're such a great swimmer.
00:32How did your journey to swimming begin? My journey to swimming began at three years old
00:38in kindergarten. And I was just playing around, beating about in the water. And then I started
00:44to find more love and wanted to learn how to properly swim. Then when I joined primary
00:49school, I went for my first swimming competition. Sadly, I faced what is called discrimination to
00:56people with disabilities. So of course, that made me feel really, really bad. It was a huge
01:01challenge for me growing up. I was always laughed at, people always pointed fingers at me in school,
01:06and I ended up trying to hide my disability by wearing a sweater or long sleeved clothes. I lost
01:13my sweater at some point. Ever since then, I've never found it necessary to hide my disability.
01:18We all know that family support is very important. What role has it played to getting you where you
01:24are right now? Family support has definitely helped a lot with my confidence, just as a person
01:29with a disability. The support from my mom, I always say this example because it really did
01:37shape me, is the fact that I lost my sweater, but she refused to buy for me a new one. Because she
01:43realised I had to stop hiding my hand. She made me realise that this is how I was born, this was
01:50God's plan, and there's nothing I can do to change it but embrace it. On several occasions, Husna has
01:56mentioned her mother as her mentor, as her pillar in her life as she builds her career. You have
02:01watched Husna since childhood. What were your initial thoughts when she decided to pursue swimming
02:07at a competitive level? First of all, I did not like her to swim, because I was not sure whether
02:13she could swim. She was in a kindergarten, but then the teacher told me that Husna really wanted to swim
02:20because she would stay crying when others are going to swim. In 2009, she started travelling for
02:27international events, so that's how I started supporting Husna, by giving her all the time that
02:33she needed, by escorting her to local events and also by travelling with her at international
02:42events. Any advice you have for parents with teen athletes that want to pursue any kind of sports
02:49that have disabilities? They need to know what their children would want to do. There are also,
02:55there are very many parents who do not understand that doing the sport is also, is very important in
03:03children, in children as they grow, yeah? Not only children with disabilities. Let them play and then
03:11parents will identify what their children are doing best and then they support them. The message
03:18is loud and clear. You can achieve your dreams by putting your mind and hard work together. Husna
03:23is a living example for you to break barriers. The sky is the only limit. For girls of new from
03:29Kampala, Uganda, call me Abigail. See you in the next one.