HER desk is slightly lower than those of her classmates and she has a different chair to theirs. But those are the only accommodations she’ll allow her school to make for her. All Mbali Mahlale wants is to be treated like everyone else. Even though the 16-year-old was born without arms and is the only pupil at her school with a disability, she refuses to accept any special treatment. She’s able to write with her right foot and eats using her left foot – a skill she taught herself. From skipping rope to debating, drawing and playing soccer, Mbali is always right there in the thick of things at school.
“Being born
