Khadija Gbla

[Music plays and an image appears of Khadija Gbla holding a dog, and then the image changes to show a medium view of Khadija talking to the camera]

Khadija Gbla: I focus on what I can do about creating the world I want and that starts with me. It starts the way I raise my child.

[Images move through to show Khadija walking her dog with a female towards the camera, a rear view of Khadija walking then turning and laughing, and then views of Khadija talking to the camera]

So I wear bright clothes, I am loud, I am happy because that itself is a form of resistance that says I belong here.

[Music plays as image changes to show Khadija walking her dog with a female towards the camera, and then Khadija crouched smiling at her dog beside her]

[Image changes to show a medium view of Khadija talking to the camera, and text appears: Khadija Gbla, IDPwD 2024 Ambassador]

Hi, my name is Khadija. I live in South Australia, also known as Kaurna Land.

[Image changes to show a leafy bush, and then the image changes to show Khadija smiling and cuddling her dog]

I was born in Sierra Leone, came to Australia as a refugee in 2001.

[Image changes to show a medium view of Khadija talking to the camera]

I am a human rights activist. I run my own cross-cultural consultant.

[Image changes to show Khadija reading a Mother’s Day card, and then a rear view of Khadija reading the card, and then Khadija smiling and laughing while reading the card]

But my most important role is as a Mum to a beautiful baby who is also disabled like myself.

[Images move through to show medium and close views of Khadija talking to the camera, and then Khadija’s finger tracing the heart on a Mother’s Day card]

My disabilities include fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, autism and ADHD and a bunch of other co-presentations because you get one and you start picking the rest of them like a collection item to be honest.

[Images move through to show Khadija’s sad face, a medium view of Khadija talking to the camera, a close view of Khadija talking to the camera]

I have spent most of my life not being allowed to actually be disabled, to express that disability, because of cultural reasons and fear of stigma.

[Images move through to show medium and close views of Khadija talking to the camera, Khadija smiling at a blue card, and then a close view of Khadija smiling]

Then I had my beautiful baby boy who was found to be autistic and all I saw was perfection. I saw what he can be and it gave me the gift of looking back inside myself and going, what if I give the same things to Khadija, little Khadija?

[Music plays as image changes to show the Mother’s Day message inside a card, and then the image changes to show a close view of a stuffed toy dragon beside artworks]

[Images move through to show pink flowers in a vase, a medium view of Khadija talking to the camera, and then various views of Khadija talking with a smiling female under the porch]

One of the reasons I became a human rights activist is the belief that all people, especially people who are marginalised like disabled people, deserve equality.

[Images move through to show a painting of Khadija, Khadija putting on her glasses, Khadija’s fingers using a keyboard, and then Khadija talking to the camera]

What it means for me to be an Ambassador for International Day of People with Disability, I think it highlights my journey and the journey of my child, which is that disability is a natural part of life.

[Images move through to show a wide view of a panel of four with Khadija talking, Khadija talking into a microphone, and then close and medium views of Khadija talking to the camera]

Our community has the ability to focus on the positives, to see each and every one of us in our unique self that we are exactly what we all need to make our world better, to also solve the problems we are facing.

[Images move through to show a medium view of Khadija talking to the camera, Khadija writing notes beside her laptop, Khadija smiling, and then Khadija using her laptop]

Half of the magical things about me come from the fact that I’m neurological, and I see the world in such a unique way, and that is not something that I want to lose.

[Images move through to show a medium view of Khadija talking to the camera, a close view of Khadija talking to the camera, and then Khadija cuddling her dog on the lawn]

To disabled people, we deserve to exist without apology of who we are.

[Image changes to show a medium view of Khadija turning around and smiling at the camera, and then the image changes to show Khadija talking to the camera]

My name is Khadija Gbla. I am a proud Ambassador for International Day of People with Disability.

[Music plays and image changes to show a blue screen with the International Day of People with Disability logo, and text appears: www.idpwd.com.au]