Michaela "Chaeli" Mycroft (born 30 August 1994) is a South African ability activist with

cerebral palsy Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of movement disorders that appear in early childhood. Signs and symptoms vary among people and over time, but include poor coordination, spasticity, stiff muscles, Paresis, weak muscles, and tremors. There may b ...

who won the

International Children's Peace Prize The International Children's Peace Prize is awarded annually to a child who has made a significant contribution to advocating children's rights and improving the situation of vulnerable children such as orphans, child labourers and children with H ...

in 2011. The medal was presented to her by Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Maguire. In 2004 Mycroft (aged 9), her sister Erin (11), Tarryn Terry (12), Justine Terry (9), and Chelsea Terry (6) founded The Chaeli Campaign in Cape Town to raise funds for Mycroft's motorized wheelchair. The organization now runs seven programs that impact the lives of more than 7,000 beneficiaries annually. In 2012, at the

World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates The World Summit of Nobel Peace Laureates was initiated by Mikhail Gorbachev in the 1990s, as a forum in which the Nobel Peace Laureates and the Peace Laureate Organizations could come together to address global issues with a view to encourage a ...

in Chicago, she was awarded the Peace Summit Medal for Social Activism by Nobel Peace Laureate

F. W. de Klerk Frederik Willem de Klerk ( , ; 18 March 1936 – 11 November 2021) was a South African politician who served as the seventh and final state president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and as Deputy President of South Africa, deputy president a ...

, on behalf of all Nobel Peace Laureates. In 2013 Mycroft was awarded the World of Children Awards (Youth category) that recognizes a young person under the age of 21 who has made significant contributions in the lives of other children. On 3 September 2015, at age 21, Mycroft became the first female quadriplegic to summit

Mount Kilimanjaro Mount Kilimanjaro () is a dormant volcano in Tanzania. It is the highest mountain in Africa and the highest free-standing mountain above sea level in the world, at above sea level and above its plateau base. It is also the highest volcano i ...

in Tanzania, the highest mountain in Africa. She celebrated her birthday on the mountain. Mycroft made history on 29 May 2016, along with Anita Engelbrecht, by being the first wheelchair athletes to complete the

Comrades Marathon The Comrades Marathon is an ultramarathon of approximately which is run annually in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa between the cities of Durban and Pietermaritzburg. It is the world's largest and oldest ultramarathon race. The dire ...

, an 89 kilometre

ultramarathon An ultramarathon is a footrace longer than the traditional marathon distance of . The sport of running ultramarathons is called ultra running or ultra distance running. Various distances, surfaces, and formats are raced competitively, from the ...

run between Pietermaritzburg and Durban. This was the first time in the 95-year history of the event that a wheelchair athlete had successfully lobbied the organizers to have the rules changed. Wheelchair athletes were previously barred from participating.Comrades Marathon
"Wheelchair Assisted Participants at 2016 Comrades"

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mycroft, Michaela 1994 births Living people South African disability rights activists University of Cape Town alumni South African activists with disabilities People with cerebral palsy South African women activists White South African people