Small in stature, huge in spirit

She might be small in stature, but Shakira Darby from Daingean has big plans for the future.

Thirteen-year-old Shakira has achondroplasia, the most common form of dwarfism. She recently got in touch with the Offaly Independent to raise awareness about her condition. She stressed that aside from being smaller than average, she is the same as any other teenager.

“As a dwarf, I would like to make everybody aware that we do not like to be called a midget, we like to be called a little person or by our own name. We are not different to other people, we are just unique in our own way.

'The most common form or dwarfism is achondroplasia. Achondroplasia occurs in about one out of 26,000 to 40,000 babies. People with achondroplasia have a long body and shortened legs and arms. The average height of a male is 131cm and a female is 123cm. Some forms of dwarfism are only discovered at birth,” she says.

Shakira is a first year student in Tullamore College and is enjoying life in secondary school. She says that the transition from national school has been made easier thanks to the support of her friends and teachers. “In the science labs I use steps and I have a special chair. I also have two sets of books, as I can't carry them all around.”

Enjoying life in Tullamore College, her favourite subjects are woodwork and art. She also wants to become a teacher when she's older, but is unsure as of yet what subjects she'd like to teach.

In her free time, she likes helping her mum Caroline take care of her younger siblings MJ and Charlie [neither of who have achondroplasia] and enjoys playing a number of sports including football and hurling. She also recently took up boxing.

Caroline says that Shakira is a great example to MJ and Charlie. “We are all so proud of her,” Caroline told the Offaly Independent.