China Daily Global
3rd December 2020
Tibetan moves beyond disability to inspire
By PALDEN NYIMA in Lhasa
Tibetan ethnic group member Kyila puts up a mirror in her room, reflecting her image adorned with a hairdo styled in dazzling, dyed waves.
"I don't need a mirror and I don't see myself, but like other girls I also like makeup. I want to dress up nicely because I consider this to be part of my way of showing respect to others," the 34-year-old said.
As a visually impaired person, Kyila may not see the world the same way as many people, but her words clearly reflect her determination to be a confident, compassionate and useful member of her community.
For the past six years, Kyila has been working as secretary of the Fukang Angel Foundation, which is affiliated to the Tibet Fukang Medical Corporation, one of the few key private hospitals in the autonomous region.
Kyila was born with her visual impairment in a farmer's family in Tibet's Shigatse city. She has two brothers who are also visually impaired. When Kyila was 12, she enrolled in Braille Without Borders, a special needs school in Lhasa that opened in 1998.
After three years in the school, Kyila was able to read and write Braille in Chinese, Tibetan and English. She has also learned culinary and massage techniques.
Kyila subsequently had the opportunity to study at the English-language Totnes European School in London. She later founded Tibet's first blind massage center of its kind, as well as the first kindergarten of its kind for visually impaired children.
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