At just five years old, Khaleesi Webb has had so much to deal with. From being born with spina bifida to being rejected by three primary schools, life has been a headache for Khaleesi and her family.
But life got a little better yesterday when Khaleesi kissed her mother Kerisha Crawford Webb and father Rafael Webb goodbye and pushed her walker into class on her first day at the Penal/Quinam Government Primary School.
Despite her mobility impairment, the smile never left her face as she met her classmates and teachers who welcomed her into the school.
Describing her feeling as ecstatic, Crawford-Webb thanked the T&T Guardian for highlighting Khaleesi's woes in getting enrolled into a primary school.
"I feel very happy that she got into a school. Hopefully I don’t have to transfer her because of the transport situation. If it comes to that, I will have to do it, but then it will be a next problem to get her into another school. Other than that, I am very happy. She is excited, very excited," Crawford-Webb said.
Back in May, Crawford-Webb had visited the T&T Guardian worried that her child would be denied a fair chance at an education. The Charleau Village, Penal mother had applied to the Dayanand Memorial Vedic School, St Brigid's Girl's RC and Tulsa Trace Hindu Primary School, but was denied by all without explanations. Within days of the story being published, Education Minister Anthony Garcia made arrangements for Khaleesi to attend the Penal/Quinam Government Primary School, which was designed to accommodate students with physical disabilities like Khaleesi.
However, there are still problems for the Webbs as transportation arrangements are still to be settled. Crawford-Webb said the bus service to the school has rejected Khaleesi.
She said the principal gave her the number for a bus driver, but when she called she was told there was no space for Khaleesi.
"It’s frustrating, they just don’t have any sort of humanity at all. Seeing that all of us are humans, not because one person was born differently it means you should just blatantly dismiss them like that because they are not the same as you."
Spina bifida is a birth defect in which someone has an opening in their spine. This results in damaged nerves in the spinal cord and creates a communication barrier between the brain and muscles.