Business News The Griffin Report
Shani Dhanda was born with a rare genetic condition called osteogenesis imperfecta – more commonly known as brittle bones. However, she has fought against the odds with the sort of robust approach to everyday existence that has earned her the title of the Future Face of Greater Birmingham. Chamberlink’s award-winning columnist, Jon Griffin, spoke to Shani, also vice-president of the Asian Business Chamber of Commerce, about the challenges in her life.
“Whatever small advantages there are from being 3 feet 10 I will use them, and why not? “When you are different, it is
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easier to make a difference. It can have certain positive elements. It helps with networking because people always remember meeting me.
“You have to have a really strong
sense of self and confidence. People stare at me, they point at me, they have made videos of me walking down the
street...people are curious, they do not know how to deal with me. “I have dealt with it my all my
life. I know when someone is staring at me. Am I going to let in ruin my day? It takes a lot of effort – you have to be a really strong person and sometimes it is exhausting. “To me, optimism is the only way
forward. I am a memorable person – people remember me – and that helps me in business. “When I was at special needs
school, I was among people who couldn’t talk or feed themselves. I am grateful for everything I can do.”
It's that sort of robust approach
to the challenges of everyday existence that has driven Shani since her childhood. Born with a rare genetic condition called osteogenesis imperfecta – more commonly called brittle bones which affects one in every 15,000 people – she has never allowed her condition to define her. Or as she puts it: “I am not disabled because of my condition, but because of the way the world is designed. It is the environment that disables people, not the disability. “I was happy as a kid, I was
happy at school, I have always been an optimistic person, I have never felt sorry for myself. There have been days when it gets to you, but I can probably count them on one hand.” That determination to succeed
against the odds has paid off handsomely for Shani. She was recently crowned the Future Face
20 CHAMBERLINK November 2020
hani Dhanda is – in her own memorable words – one of life's incurable optimists.
TV star: Shani Dhanda appeared in a national TV advertisement for LinkedIn's “In It Together” campaign
Picture: Andy Fallon
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