HELEN KELLER

Helen Keller was an American educator, advocate for the blind and deaf and co-
founder of the ACLU. Stricken by an illness at the age of 2, Keller was left blind and
deaf. Beginning in 1887, Keller's teacher, Anne Sullivan, helped her make
tremendous progress with her ability to communicate, and Keller went on to
college, graduating in 1904. During her lifetime, she received many honors in
recognition of her accomplishments.

Family and Early Life.Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia,
Alabama. Keller was the first of two daughters born to Arthur H. Keller and
Katherine Adams Keller. Keller's father had served as an officer in the Confederate
Army during the Civil War. She also had two older stepbrothers.The family was not
particularly wealthy and earned income from their cotton plantation. Later, Arthur
became the editor of a weekly local newspaper, the North Alabamian.Keller was
born with her senses of sight and hearing, and started speaking when she was just
6 months old. She started walking at the age of 1.Loss of Sight and HearingKeller
lost both her sight and hearing at just 19 months old. In 1882, she contracted an
illness — called "brain fever" by the family doctor — that produced a high body
temperature. The true nature of the illness remains a mystery today, though some experts believe it might have been scarlet fever
or meningitis. Within a few days after the fever broke, Keller's mother noticed that her daughter didn't show any reaction when the
dinner bell was rung, or when a hand was waved in front of her face.As Keller grew into childhood, she developed a limited method
of communication with her companion, Martha Washington, the young daughter of the family cook. The two had created a type of
sign language. By the time Keller was 7, they had invented more than 60 signs to communicate with each other. During this time,
Keller had also become very wild and unruly. She would kick and scream when angry, and giggle uncontrollably when happy. She
tormented Martha and inflicted raging tantrums on her parents. Many family relatives felt she should be institutionalized.

Helen Keller's Teacher, Anne Sullivan.Keller worked with her teacher Anne Sullivan for 49 years, from 1887 until Sullivan's death
in 1936. In 1932, Sullivan experienced health problems and lost her eyesight completely. A young woman named Polly Thomson,
who had begun working as a secretary for Keller and Sullivan in 1914, became Keller's constant companion upon Sullivan's
death.Looking for answers and inspiration, Keller's mother came across a travelogue by Charles Dickens, American Notes, in 1886.
She read of the successful education of another deaf and blind child, Laura Bridgman, and soon dispatched Keller and her father to
Baltimore, Maryland to see specialist Dr. J. Julian Chisolm. After examining Keller, Chisolm recommended that she see Alexander
Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, who was working with deaf children at the time. Bell met with Keller and her parents,
and suggested that they travel to the Perkins Institute for the Blind in Boston, Massachusetts.

Contributions.Helen Keller helped the people in need by encouraging others, her own efforts, and by cheering and influencing the
people in need. Paquette states that Helen Keller spoke for justice and against war. She fought for women’s rights, visited injured
soldiers. She founded and donated many organizations which include American Foundation for the Blind (AFB) which still exist today
(Paquette). According to “The Life of Helen Keller”, Helen Keller and Ann Sullivan moved to Forest Hills in New York in 1918. There
she made her base for collecting money for AFB. Keller worked determinedly to make life for the deaf and blind easier. During this
time, when Keller and Sullivan were touring, Sullivan became ill. Thus their secretary, Polly Thomson took over taking care of Keller
and touring with her. As they toured, they spent a lot of time raising money for the people who were blind. She lectured and
answered questions about her political views. After World War II, Keller and Thomson traveled the world and visited many countries
to raise money for the American Foundation for the Overseas Blind (The life). Helen Keller had a dream to help people in need, and
she worked hard to make it come true.
 Nicholas James Vujicic
Nick Vujicic, famous for his inspirational speeches, was born without limbs in his
body. However, instead of letting his disability deter his everyday life, he took it as a
challenge, using it to change millions of lives with the same faith that kept him
going. As a child of ten, he always wondered why he was different from others, and
decided to drown himself since he saw no purpose to his living. However, he
stopped himself in time, thinking of his loving parents and how much it would hurt
them to see him dead. From then on, there was no looking back for this young man,
who now has founded his own organization, called ‘Life Without Limbs’. He has
released motivational films, like 'Life's Greater Purpose' and 'Biography of a
Determined Man of Faith'. He has also written a book titled 'Life Without Limits:
Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life'. This speaker has even acted in a short film,
‘The Butterfly Circus’, earning the film three awards, and bagging one himself, for his brilliant portrayal of a man very much like
himself, who is given a second chance to love himself. He is a devout Christian, believing that God loves everyone equally, and has
taken it upon himself to spread the message to everyone around the world.

Childhood & Early Life

Nicholas James Vujicic the eldest son of Dushka and Boris was born in Melbourne, Australia, on December 4, 1982. The infant,
though healthy in all other aspects, was born with autosomal recessive tetra-amelia, a rare condition where the child has no limbs at
all, except feet with just two toes. Initially, it was quite difficult for the child and his family to cope up with the troubles that
accompany the absence of hands and legs. He wasn't even allowed to study in a normal school, even though there was nothing
wrong with his IQ. He gradually learnt to use his feet to write, type, play, and shave. He pursued his secondary education from the
'Runcorn State High School', Queensland, Australia, where he was also the head boy. He was also on the student council that carried
out humanitarian work.

Career

When Nick, as he is known, turned seventeen, he started delivering speeches in his church group. He earned a Bachelor's degree in
Commerce, specializing in financial planning and accountancy, from the 'Griffith University' in Queensland.As a speaker, he mainly
addresses school children, young adults, and working professionals. He has also spoken at various churches, all across the globe,
because he believes that Christ loves him as He loves all his children.In his career, Nick has travelled to more than sixty countries
around the world, and has touched the lives of millions of people. In 2005, he established an NGO named 'Life Without Limbs', which
has its headquarters in Agoura Hills, California.In the same year, Vujicic released the DVD of a documentary movie, titled 'Life's
Greater Purpose'. The film talks about the motivational speaker's childhood, how he learned to use whatever was there of his limbs,
and his married life.In March 2008, Nick appeared in the '20/20' television series aired in the United States, for an interview, taken
by presenter Bob Cummings.In 2009, Vujicic featured in a short film titled 'The Butterfly Circus', directed by Joshua Weigel. It also
starred Mexican actor, Eduardo Verástegui, and American Doug Jones.The movie won a lot of accolades, including the first prize
awarded by the 'Doorpost Film Project', and the 'Best Short Film' at the 'Method Fest Independent Film Festival', as well as the 'The
Feel Good Film Festival'.In 2010, Nick wrote a book, 'Life Without Limits: Inspiration for a Ridiculously Good Life', under the banner
of publishing company, 'Random House'. He also released a DVD titled 'Biography of a Determined Man of Faith'.Vujicic gave a
heart-rending speech in Switzerland, at the 'World Economic Forum', for their Annual Meeting's special session, 'Inspired for a
Lifetime', in 2011.

Major Works

Nick is an evangelist who is known for his organization, ‘Life Without Limbs’, that hosts events and presents talks on courage and
faith in God to overcome any adversity faced in life.

Awards & Achievements

In 1990, Vujicic's determination and courage impressed the world, and he was felicitated with the 'Australian Young Citizen
Award'.He was one of the contenders for the 'Young Australian of the Year Award' in the year 2005.In 2010, he won the 'Best Actor
in Short Film' award at the 'Method Fest Independent Film Festival' for his performance in the role of Will, from the movie 'The
Butterfly Circus'.

ROSELLE AMBUBUYOG

Roselle Ambubuyog was born on January 12, 1980. She is the first visually- impaired
Filipino to graduate summa cum laude from Ateneo de Manila University in 2001.
Roselle lost her eyesight at the age of six due to an illness. Despite her handicap, she
was a consistent academic honoree in her school. She graduates as a valedictorian in
both elementary and high school. Her excellent performance in school enabled her to
participate in regular classes with sighted students. She studied Mathematics in Ateneo
and the university supported her by purchasing software and equipment that made
braille copies of exams, lecture notes, and other classroom materials. Because of her
outstanding academic performance, she gained many awards and recognitions. AMong
them we're Ten Outstanding Students of the Philippines,the BPI Science Award from the
BPI Foundation, and the Gawad Sentenaryo Award from the National Centennial
Comission. Upon her graduation, Roselle continued to study for master's degree and
also devoted her efforts helping visually impaired students. She initiated "Project
Roselle" together with the Rotary CLub of Makati- Ayala, and provided schools with
software and equipment, such as computers and printers that will aid blind students in
their studies. Roselle worked at Freedom Scientific, Inc. as a consultant in developing software for people who are visually impaired
and those with learning disabilities. She also worked as product and support manager at Code Factory, which is the world's leading
provider of software that allow the visually impaired to access mobile devices such as cellphones. Roselle is also a motivational
speaker and has given several talks and seminars to students, teachers, and professionals.

On March 24, 2001, Roselle Ambubuyog became the first visually-impaired Filipina to emerge as summa cum laude graduate of the
Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU). Born on January 12,1980, Ambubuyog, totally blind since age six, finished her bachelor of
science degree, major in mathematics with flying colors. She was also chosen as class valedictorian chosen among all summa cum
laude graduates.She earlier graduated valedictorian from her elementary school and, four years later, was again valedictorian of her
high school batch.As a scholar of ADMU, the school bought Ambubuyog a Braille Translation Software that converts encoded or
scanned text to computer as well as a Braille printer that produces hard copy Braille to make the exam questionnaires, lecture notes,
and other classroom materials.Also bought for her was the talking calculator so she can hear the numbers while she
computes.Ambubuyog also won all the other awards possible for a graduating Ateneo student: the president's award for service and
excellence as most outstanding individual; the St. Ignatius Award for Outstanding Scholar, and the departmental award for
mathematics.Outside the university she has received the Jose Rizal Model Student award from the Knights of Rizal Supreme Council
and one of the science awards from Bank of the Philippine Islands.