By Akola Thompson
AT the age of three, now 32-year-old Tiffany Latoya Anansa Ward was diagnosed with rheumatic fever.

This disease, which causes inflammation and pain in the joints, plagued Tiffany throughout her life. Her discomfort and pain was eased only by frequent injections.

At the time she had not yet started school, which was troubling as the disease hardly ever presented itself in children so young. With the aid of injections, however, she had a relatively normal childhood, which she described as being fun-filled.

It was not until her fifteenth year while she was a student at Bladen Hall Multilateral that Tiffany began to feel the throes of depression creeping in. It was the year she became confined to a wheelchair.

The absence of proper facilities for disabled persons in the school saw Tiffany dropping out and becoming more and more withdrawn as the weeks went by.

“It was hard in the beginning,” she said, “moving from being a child that ran around and played with my brothers and cousins to not being able to walk on my own.”

OPEN DOORS
Time spent at home, she said, became more and more frustrating, and after constantly being encouraged by others to join a school, which would cater for her new needs, she enrolled at Open Doors Centre. Shortly after, she did her attachment at the National Commission on Disability. It was at NCD that Tiffany would later obtain her first job.

Tiffany started off as an assistant to a VSO volunteer who had been conducting a survey on persons living with disabilities. Her main duties for that period had been inputting data but shortly after she was hired as a fulltime receptionist-clerk.

During her time at NCD, Tiffany became exposed to many persons struggling with disabilities and as a result of several interactions, she became a secretary of the Disabled People International, North America and Caribbean region.
Later, she would become a secretary in the Young Voices Guyana chapter, a position she served for two years.

While Tiffany’s life, however, seemed to be moving upwards, her confinement to her wheelchair was a constant source of pain. At 18 she said, “I was still to come to grips with my confinement,” and memories of running and “climbing trees” with her family seemed taunting.

‘I love graphic designing, I love creating things through visual arts and I have taught myself everything.” A person having a disability does not mean “that they are incapable of having goals and going after them’ — Tiffany Ward

One day, however, which seemed much like any other, Tiffany said she suddenly realized that while she still had a life to live, “there are people who cannot do anything for themselves.”

POSITIVE LIVING
It was then that she made a conscious decision to always think positively and encouraged others to do so also.

“I have dreams and goals in life, and I always believe that life goes on and to dwell on things that happen isn’t healthy,” she said.

Making peace with both herself and her disability, Tiffany through a drive unmatched by many, set out on a path to gain her independence.

Leaving the shores of Guyana, Tiffany travelled to the Netherlands, where she attended the Gwendolyn Van Putten School and studied Dutch. A year later, in 2014, she returned to Guyana due to personal reasons.

GRAPHIC DESIGNING
Back home, Tiffany sought to cement her independence and began working towards her dream of owning her own graphic designing business. Currently she is a freelancer under the name “Phoenix Flight Graphic Design” and while it has been very challenging for an “up and comer” like herself, her clientele has been growing steadily.

“I love graphic designing, I love creating things through visual arts and I have taught myself everything.” A person having a disability, she stressed, does not mean “that they are incapable of having goals and going after them.”

She no longer looks at her disability as being something negative, but is thankful for the help she was able to provide to others with disabilities like herself and being able to advocate for them. All in all, Tiffany is proud of everything she has accomplished and has set new goals for herself. She said that while it is often very difficult living in a world where “men tend to dominate the scene, we should continue to be strong and proud while continuing to do as much as our male counterparts.”