Meet Shobika Kalra, the girl with a rare muscle degenerative disorder

Dubai: Diagnosed with a muscle degenerative disorder at the age of 13, Shobika Kalra is standing up for herself and others like her refusing to be a victim of her circumstances. 

The 28-year-old who has has helped build over 1,000 ramps across Dubai had been a topper throughout school and was diagnosed with Friedreich’s ataxia, right before her 13th birthday which compelled her to leave school.

Disheartened by the diagnosis, Shobika locked herself in a room for 2 years trying to find natural remedies for her condition but one day she decided that she cannot let the disease govern her life.

However, she believes she would have been able to do nothing without the support of the government, “They were very generous. The government got the first ramp made within one week of me pointing it out to them and I think, I got the momentum from there.”

To take her movement further, Shobika  has launched an app called the Wings of Angels to take her initiative to other parts of the world as she believes that not just Dubai but countries like Pakistan and India need to make wheelchair bound people feel as independent as possible.