Girl Warriors: How 25 Young Activists Are Saving the Earth
Daphne Frias Born January 13 1998 Lives West Harlem New York United States Loves Crafting Instagram frias_daphne Pronouns she her hers On September 20 2019 Daphne Frias was scheduled to be one of the official spokespeople for New York City’s climate strike The strike was supposed to start in in the Battery a park 10 miles from her apartment in Harlem which is practically on the other side of Manhattan Daphne wasn’t sure how’d she’d make it there She gets around in a wheelchair and because fewer than half of all subways in New York City are wheelchair accessible taking the train was not an option There was no way a cab would make it through the already crowded streets in time but she refused to give up If there’s one word to describe Daphne it’s determined She called a cab to drop her off as close as possible to the march From there support showed up in the form of a tall guy named Sammer who helped clear a path through the quarter of a million people in the streets so Daphne could get to the front of the march Amy Goodman from Democracy Now would be waiting there to interview Daphne Along the route Daphne laughed as she rolled past everyone There are so many people she gushed It’s so beautiful Instead of stressing out 1
about how she’d reach the stage on time Daphne was euphoric She squeezed through the crowd and cheered She smiled at strangers and waved to babies in strollers Daphne absorbed the energy all around her She basked in the chaos People with disabilities are really affected by climate change Daphne said that day during one of her news interviews We don’t have the privilege to be able to up and leave when a natural disaster occurs Daphne was born in West Harlem and doctors told her mom that her baby might not survive That’s because Daphne came into the world when she was only 27 weeks old weighing just over a pound That’s the same weight as only two oranges I was a tiny little thing so I was in the hospital for three months Daphne says My mom tells me stories about doctors needing to use their face masks for my diapers I only had a 25 percent chance of survival they said When Daphne was three years old she was diagnosed with cerebral palsy CP the most common physical disability in childhood which affects kids movement muscle tone or posture Every hour a baby is born with CP and there’s currently no known cure When Daphne was a baby doctors were not sure if she’d ever walk but she sure could talk Ever since she said her first words Daphne has been asking questions and speaking up In her last year of preschool Daphne was determined to walk Without telling her mom Daphne’s teachers practiced with her every day preparing for her graduation The day came and I was so excited Daphne says I stood up and walked I did it My mom started bawling she adds Daphne has always been very determined her mom Josie says Daphne’s parents are from the Dominican Republic so she and her sister and brother grew up speaking Spanish at home Daphne learned English in public school in New York City where she went until third grade That year Daphne had an accident that fractured her knee I was in a cast 2 GIRL WARRIORS
DAPHNE FRIAS for six weeks and after they took the cast off I lost my range of motion We were all so confused because I’d been walking before this and now I couldn’t walk at all Daphne went from one doctor to another for a year traveling around by bus train and subway to find answers They said I should never have been put in a cast Daphne had lost her muscle strength Over the next two years she went to rehab and had her first surgery but the mobility in her legs didn’t come back Although I was born disabled I was still able to walk in my own way until that accident Daphne says After multiple extended stays in rehab I was able to walk again using a walker and crutches This was just as I was entering high school and for the first time I was contemplating my future Therapy required me to attend multiple times a week if I wanted to walk again Between therapy and rehab Daphne attended an elite high school in New York City I had six to seven hours of schoolwork each night which didn’t leave much room for therapy My education is so important to me I’ve always known that I wanted to be a doctor I had to take high school seriously in order to pave the way for medical school Daphne says she struggled to keep up with the rigorous commitments of going to both school and therapy For a long time I believed I had to walk to be successful she says explaining that she worked hard to break that unhealthy mindset that I used to be in Being disabled has brought many challenges in my life the greatest one was when I decided to redefine my journey as someone with a disability Daphne says After graduating from high school Daphne went to college to study biology and anthropology as a double major with minors in sociology and creative writing I’ve always loved to learn she says I just love knowing things and asking questions In college Daphne also organized students from her campus to travel to the nearest March for Our Lives event to rally for gun violence prevention 3
