Every International Women’s Day (8th March) the World Bank Pacific recognizes and celebrates the extraordinary women creating change, breaking down barriers and supporting their communities all across the region. Almah Kuambu is one of these women. She is the Technical Advisor to the National Orthotic & Prosthetic Services in Papua New Guinea (PNG) and knows firsthand the challenges people in PNG face when living with a disability. She was disabled at age 11 and uses a prosthetic leg herself.
Yet Almah has never let her disability hold her back: “Growing up with my physical disability was challenging, but my parents inspired me to keep pressing forward and not to give up. My father has been the main driving force behind me because he believed that I had the potential to be just like my siblings despite my physical disability.”
Her father encouraged her to study, to be strong and independent, a lesson she has demonstrated throughout her life. Almah went on to study at the Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics and after graduating joined the PNG National Department of Health in 2012. She worked on various Australian Aid projects before becoming the Technical Advisor for the National Orthotic and Prosthetic Service in 2017.