Impactdisability advocacyInternational Day of Persons With DisabilitiesDisability rights

Gripping Photos Prove That People With Disabilities Know No Limits

Gripping Photos Prove That People With Disabilities Know No Limits
Eleanor Goldberg
By 

Business Reporter, HuffPost

A physically disabled child pushes another on a wheelchair as they leave for the day at the Association of People with Disability run school on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in Bangalore, India, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. According to the United Nations, over one billion people, or approximately 15 per cent of the world?s population, live with some form of disability. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)
A physically disabled child pushes another on a wheelchair as they leave for the day at the Association of People with Disability run school on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in Bangalore, India, Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2013. According to the United Nations, over one billion people, or approximately 15 per cent of the world?s population, live with some form of disability. (AP Photo/Aijaz Rahi)

Medical and technological advances have opened up more opportunities than ever before for the more than 1 billion people living with disabilities.

But society’s tolerance is still trailing behind –- a stagnancy that advocates are determined to change.

Tuesday marks the UN’s International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Across the world, people who face physical and intellectual challenges are urging their respective countries to see them for who they are: Engaged citizens who want the same chances to learn, work, thrive and contribute that their able-bodied counterparts have.

While the UN has made a number of strides, people with disabilities still face enormous challenges. They are disproportionately represented among the poorest populations and often lack equal access to such basic resources as education, employment and healthcare.

Today, as people with disabilities protest and raise awareness, they’ve also invited the world to witness them overcome the struggles they endure daily.

They're Just Like Other Kids
AP
A boy runs down the corridor to go to his classroom at the Association of People with Disability run school on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in Bangalore, India.
They're Protesting Injustices
AP
Indian policemen detain a Kashmiri with physical disabilities during a protest to mark International Day of People with Disabilities in Srinagar, India.
They're Getting Stronger
Getty
A Yemeni child with disabilities does does physical training at a center of prosthetic limbs in Sanaa on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
They're Taking One Step At A Time
AP
A man with physical disabilities returns after participating in a walk to mark the International Day of persons with Disabilities in Hyderabad, India.
They're Trying To Survive
AP
A person with a disability begs for alms on a busy street in the northern Greek port city of Thessaloniki on International Day for People with Disabilities.
They're Raising Awareness
AP
Kashmiri students with physical disabilities take part in an awareness rally to mark International Day of People with Disability in Srinagar, India.
They're Fighting To Be Heard
AP
Indian policemen detain a Kashmiri with a disability during a protest to mark International Day of People with Disability in Srinagar, India.
They're Studying
AP
Sophia Kretschmer, second right, a German volunteer who teaches English at the Association of People with Disability run school, interacts with a child with a physical disability on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in Bangalore, India.
They're Pushing Their Limits
AP
Arbena, 14, a child with disabilities, jumps on a trampoline on her birthday at the Association of People with Disability run school on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in Bangalore, India.
They're Adapting
AP
Children walk back to their classrooms with walking aids attached with wheels after lunch at the Association of People with Disability run school on International Day of Persons with Disabilities, in Bangalore, India.
They're Enjoying The Attention
AP
A child with disabilities reacts to the camera during lunch break at the Association of People with Disability run school on International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
They're Sharing Their Feelings
AP
A boy in a wheelchair holds a placard as he attends an event to raise awareness about disability on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in Mumbai, India.
They're Turning To Their Advocates
AP
Indian women carry their children as they arrive to attend an event to raise awareness about disabilities on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities in Mumbai, India.
They're Playing Around
Getty Images
Afghan wheelchair basketball players take part in a match at a club for the disabled and victims of war, run by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), on International Day of People with Disability in Jalalabad on December 3, 2013. According to a United Nations report on disabilities, physical, mental and sensory impairments are very common, affecting some 10 per cent of the world's population. AFP PHOTO/ Noorullah Shirzada (Photo credit should read Noorullah Shirzada/AFP/Getty Images)

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