Ashura Michael doesn’t raise her voice; she doesn’t have to. Meeting her is to be immersed in a world where silence speaks volumes, and resilience is woven into every word she signs. In the quiet rhythm of her hands and the firm steadiness of her gaze, you begin to understand, her presence, grounded and luminous, speaks with a force that comes from having lived what she now champions: justice, equality, and dignity for all, especially those whose voices society too often refuses to hear.
We sit in a small room flooded with afternoon light, her interpreter by her side. Born in Rongo Town in Migori County, she was a vibrant child, full of life, until measles swept in and robbed her of her hearing at the age of four. What followed was not a story of defeat, but of fierce adaptation. “I had to learn how to live again,” she tells me through her interpreter.
Today, Ashura is a force. A policy advocate, a mentor to girls, a political contender, and the UNDP Kenya Disability Inclusion Lead. Her work dismantles the barriers that silence people with disabilities—those built not only in physical spaces, but in minds, institutions, and attitudes. She has sat at decision-making tables across Africa and the globe, spoken in legislative assemblies, and danced—yes, danced—to the tunes of Koffi Olomide and Fally Ipupa in celebration of every hard-won step forward.
Her life, like her favorite quote by Mother Teresa, reminds us that we don’t need to move mountains to make change—we only need the courage to cast a stone, and the faith that the ripples will reach farther than we imagine.
This story was originally published by UNDP Kenya.
