Disabled Indian Girl wins New Zealand Award: Awarded for outstanding achievements of New Zealanders with disabilities

Updated on: Thursday, December 17, 2015

 awardMuskan Devta is a class captain, a roving reporter for the school newsletter who owns a radio show, who has also written an autobiography 'I Dream' just at the age of 16. What makes Muskan Devta even more special, is that she is not an ordinary teenage girl, but a girl who is suffering from a rare disease called hemiplegia. Her efforts have now won her a prestigious award, constituted to honour outstanding achievements of New Zealanders with disabilities.

According to IANS reports, Muskan is a published author and an inspirational speaker. She was presented with the Supreme ACC Attitude Award for 2015 at Auckland's Viaduct Events Centre earlier this month. "Hemiplegia is something I would have to live with throughout my entire life. So why worry?" she said at the awards ceremony.

This is not the first time when Muskan's efforts have been recognised. She, earlier, had won the award in the junior category last year. Her persistent efforts to improve the lives of others also saw her getting selected as a finalist in the youth category of the award this year. Beating tough competition from the winners of eight other award categories, she won the overall Attitude ACC Supreme Award.

Though it was hard to make friends and lead a 'normal' life when her parents shifted to New Zealand, Muskan found courage in her younger brother Aman and began her mission to make a positive change in the world. She decided to break out of her shell and she became class captain, a roving reporter for the school newsletter and went on to owning a radio show on popular Hindi station Radio Tarana.

In 2013, Muskan published first autobiography, "I Dream", to raise money for Starship Children's Hospital where she underwent corrective surgery. She now aims to raise funds to build two classrooms at a school for the visually challenged children in India.

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