'Even sitting down, we can reach for the stars' - PHOTO

23:00 | 13.10.2014
'Even sitting down, we can reach for the stars' - PHOTO

'Even sitting down, we can reach for the stars' - PHOTO

Some were born with their disabilities, others were the victims of freak accidents, but all the women who star in the Raw Beauty Project of NYC campaign share a common goal.

'We truly hope that we can challenge the unrealistic standard of beauty that exists today and demonstrate that there is beauty in confidence, strength and uniqueness,' Wendy Crawford, co-founder of the campaign, tells MailOnline.Wendy, one of the 19 women to pose for the series, was a 19-year-old rising model who was driving to the airport for her first international job when she was hit by a drunk driver. The accident left her a quadriplegic.I’ve looked up at most of the world from day one, and even from this seated position, I was raised to reach for the stars,' she says.'Now my most important role - mother to my six-year-old son - has brought the most joy and fulfillment to my life. Yes, I am a mom on wheels, but as my son knows, to be a parent, you only need a heart.'Emily Ladau, who has Larsen Syndrome, kicked off her career as an advocate for those with disabilities at a young age.When she was only ten years old, she appeared on several episodes of Sesame Street to educate children about life with a physical disability.Emily is a writer, with a blog, Words I Wheel By, and believes language is of true importance. 'I firmly believe in using the term "wheelchair user" instead of "wheelchair bound" or "confined to a wheelchair",' she says.Deborah Mellon, 60, a paraplegic, grew up in New York as the child of Holocaust survivors. In her early 20s, she married the love of her life and move to Tuscany, Italy, to start a family.'On an Italian highway, the driver of a truck fell asleep, causing a multiple crash,' she explains. 'I woke up in pieces, with my head smashed against the windshield and I lost the use of my legs.'Two years later my husband died tragically. I came back to the States feeling I had lost everything I loved.'Deborah, now a wheelchair user, moved back to the States where she eventually took up sailing. 'Recently, I found a 60ft-long, state-of-the-art, totally wheelchair accessible, ocean-ready catamaran,' she says.'I flew to England to see the boat, bought it and changed its name from “The Impossible Dream” to “Possible Dream.”The strength I learned from my parents has carried me on and I wish to spread their message in the world: Never Give Up.'(dailymail.co.uk)Bakudaily.Az

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