Campaigning for Iraq's Disabled

If you ever wonder whether one person can really change the world, Tiana Tozer has your answer. This Mercy Corps staff member was recently featured on MSNBC's Making a Difference segment.

Using a wheelchair since she was hit by a drunk driver, Tiana's positive outlook on life is inspiring others. Now she is heading to Iraq for a year to give a voice to Iraq's disabled community. According to Mercy Corps, 90 percent of disabled Iraqis live in poverty, despite this Tiana's campaign is showing that they are role models for the rest of Iraqi society on how to live together and overcome adversity.

Since 2003, Mercy Corps has invested in the capacity of people with disabilities by:

• Supporting and training 33 disability-rights organizations and helping them form a Baghdad-based alliance to lobby the government on disability issues
  
• Funding activities such as sewing workshops for deaf women, literacy classes for disabled children, and wheelchair sporting events for youth
  
• Building new wheelchair-accessible parks, schools, community centers and sports complexes, and helping dozens of people with disabilities modify their private homes
  

"They told you that beauty is in the eye of the beholder. What they failed to tell you is that it is best seen with the eyes closed. What you look like isnít important. What is important is who you are inside and the choices you are making in your life." Tiana Tozer: 1992 Paralympic silver and 1996 bronze medalist, women's wheelchair basketball.

Photo Caption: Tiana Tozer on NBC Nightly News MercyCorps>