Noor Siddiqi, 19, and Sara Siddiqi, 15, have a younger brother who was diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder when he was four. “It has been a long journey for my whole family,” Sara shared. But both sisters are quick to point out that despite the challenges that have come with taking care of a sibling with autism, the experience has enriched their lives.

Last year, the sisters drew the attention of local media when they organized a table at their school, Gloucester High School, to raise awareness about autism on April 2nd, World Autism Awareness Day. With items donated by Autism Ontario, the governmental organization aimed at supporting those with autism, the sisters spoke to their fellow students about the disorder and shared their own story of living with a sibling with autism.

Undeterred by what is arguably a significant hurdle to the pleasures and experiences of daily life, Arshina Kassam, a twenty-six year old Muslim of African background wakes each morning charged with her faith in God and confidence in her own ability to navigate the logistics of living life virtually blind.

Arshina, a second year Masters student in the School of Social Work at Carleton University, was born in Tanzania with a congenital cataract in her left eye that was not diagnosed till she was a year old. Her family then moved to Toronto where she embarked upon a series of surgeries to extract the diseased lens but following a detachment of her retina, she was left completely blind in her left eye by age two.