The word overcoming has always been part of the vocabulary and routine of Jamilla Fernanda Macedo Batista. At 29 years of age, she celebrates another achievement: the victory against covid-19. She and her mother, Frassinete de Macedo Batista, 56, contracted the disease that has killed more than 121,000 Brazilians, according to data from the Ministry of Health, released on August 31, 2020. “I confess I was more apprehensive about the result positive from my mother, ”said Jamilla. For Dona Frassinete, it was also difficult: “every day that I woke up, after sleepless nights, I immediately thought about my daughter and asked me, how am I going to take care of her alone?”.

For Jamilla, an only daughter, and her mother, this was another important episode in the trajectory of love and struggle that the two are building together. During the treatment period, many memories came to the fore, one of them in particular: the graduation ceremony in the Distance Education Degree Course, in June 2018, at the Currais Novos Center, about 180 kilometers away. Natal, capital of Rio Grande do Norte (click here and watch a video about the event).

This event marked the crossing of barriers imposed by cerebral palsy, a chronic neurological injury that has accompanied Jamilla since childhood. With a commitment to speech, locomotion, movement of arms and hands, the graduate in Letters EaD from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte had, at her side, a support network composed of her mother, classmates, teachers , tutors, pole coordination and the Secretariat of Distance Education (SEDIS) of UFRN.

With the help of the internet, through an instant messaging application, Jamilla reported the changes in her life after graduation. “It changed in every way, I was already known in the area where I live, I became known to more people, even nationally. That’s how I like to talk: being a UFRN is another level ”, he highlights with enthusiasm. She said that the experience of distance learning at the University has made her develop the ability to forget physical limits and take even more taste for studies.

Motivational speaker

Last year, Jamilla Macedo completed the Specialization Course in Education, Poverty and Social Inequality, offered in distance learning, also by UFRN. From there, she says she reviewed her inspiring role and emphasized an activity that has already taken over her professional agenda, sharing experiences, through motivational talks: “I use a tablet, where I write, the device has a program that transforms text into speech and that is transmitted to a speaker ”. To type the words, she uses a tip attached to her left wrist.

Jamilla’s determination captivated the SEDIS / UFRN Accessibility Sector team. According to Elizabeth Ferreira, educational designer and sector flow manager, work was carried out in conjunction with other units of the University, such as CAENE – today, the Secretariat for Inclusion and Accessibility at UFRN -, demanding attention and sensitivity to meet all educational needs former university student’s specials during her graduation.

“Currently, 20 students in the EaD modality are accompanied by the sector, many need adapted materials and special attention”, explains Elizabeth Ferreira. It is this look of inclusion, without prejudice and with a lot of respect for the potential of each student that has transformed the reality of Jamilla Macedo. The motivational speaker says: “I feel happy and fulfilled, for transmitting positivity, in each lecture there is an exchange, so I show that everything is possible with limitations or not”.

“My greatest admiration is that when she says: I want and go to the fight, no matter if there are obstacles, she does not see physical disability as an obstacle”, concludes Dona Frassinete, mother and fan number 1.

Bruno Cássio – SEDIS / UFRN Media Sector.