Born in 1979 in Lagos, Nigeria, Farida Nana Bedwei was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at age one. Cerebral palsy is an incurable neurological disorder that affects body movement and muscle coordination but does not interfere with the ability to learn. 

Later in her life Farida became the co-founder and Chief Technology Officer of Logiciel Ghana Ltd., a software company developing banking systems for the microfinance industry. Prior to co-founding Logiciel, Farida worked in the telecom software industry, developing mobile gateways and services for mobile networks and content providers.

In 2010, Farida published Definition of a Miracle, a children’s book starring a young African girl with CP named Zaara.

“The story about Zaara is a personal for me, I went through similar experiences growing up here in Ghana,” Farida said, and added, “Disability is still largely misunderstood and a bit of a taboo in various parts of Ghana and other African countries.”  

In 2018 on World CP Day Farida gave joy and hope to people living with CP and their families with the launch of her fictional protagonists, Karmzah and Zaara, characters in a comic book that features a heroine (Karmzah) with cerebral palsy. The character was so well received that people all over the world mentioned her in the Twitter-sphere, spreading the word that the unique new superhero had arrived. 

“I created Karmzah because I found there was no representation of me – a female with Cerebral Palsy – in the world of superheroes,” said Farida. 

“And there are millions of little girls and boys who deserve to read a comic or watch an animation and see someone they can relate to.”

“I am a role model for a lot of children with disabilities so and it is very important for me to showcase to the world that… yes, you can have a disabled child and it’s not the end of the world. There is so much that that child can end up doing given the right resources.” 

Author: Barbara Brown

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