The Duchess of Edinburgh surprised a charity fundraiser whose determination to show anything is possible for anyone has taken her to Windsor Castle.
Law student Emily, who is 21 and from north London, has taken on the challenge of walking further than she ever has before to raise money and awareness for Children in Need.
Emily was born with cerebral palsy and finds walking difficult. She usually uses a wheelchair but accepted the challenge of tackling the famous Long Walk leading to Windsor Castle for the charity, which supports young people across the UK and overseas.
As she began her penultimate stretch, a surprise guest joined her. The Duchess of Edinburgh walked a chunk of the iconic avenue with Emily and spoke to her about her motivation for the challenge.
Emily told the Duchess that ”as I got older I was more in tune to the realities of our world. So it’s been tough in that sense, I’ve had to kind of integrate myself into a society that doesn’t necessarily accept people like me.”
(BBC still/ fair use)
The Duchess asked Emily about how people viewed those with disabilities and the toughness of the challenge. Emily said ‘‘I want to show the world that anything’s possible.”
As Emily completed the latest part of her challenge, her family and friends were on hand to cheer her with the Duchess of Edinburgh joining the celebrations.
Emily is part of the Challenge Squad, a group of young people who have all benefitted previously from Children in Need funded organisations and who want to do something for the charity. When she was three, Emily joined CPotential, a charitable organisation that helps young people with the condition to improve their movement and strengthen their bodies. It’s supported by Children in Need.
Each Challenge Squad member is joined by a celebrity with the BBC’s Disability Correspondent and TV presenter, Nikki Fox, supporting Emily.
Now, Emily has more plans to help others. As she continue her law degree, she is looking at specialising in Human Rights legislation so that she can advocate for disabled people facing discrimination.
