Blind Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Sabriye Tenberke changes the world as a wonder woman making dreams come true

Female Boss

Today is a special episode that will be in English, because I had the honor to interview the amazing Sabriye Tenberken!
You might not know her, but her impact on the world is impeccable. As Time magazine said: Though she has been sightless since the age of 12, Sabriye has never lost her vision.

As a blind woman she refuses to see her blindness as a limitation. And that has not gone unnoticed. Sabriye received numerous awards and was even nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She has written four books, is featured in two documentaries and visited greats such as Oprah Winfrey.

Due to a degenerative eye disease Sabriye became blind at the age of 12. And knowing what it is like to be marginalized, she developed an intrinsic interest in creating ethical social change. She studied Tibetology and Central Asian Sciences in Germany. And to be able to take notes in Tibetan, Sabriye developed the Tibetan Braille Script in only two weeks.

Traveling on horseback through the Himalayas, she discovered that Tibetans have a stigma against people with disabilities. Especially blindness is seen as a punishment for something you have done in your previous life. Blind children are often neglected, locked away in dark rooms or sent to the streets to beg for money. Experiencing this situation inspired her to act. In 1998, together with her partner Paul she started the first school for the blind in Tibet. This school formed the foundation of Braille Without Borders, an organization that empowered blind people to take their lives into their own hands.

In 2005, Sabriye and Paul co-founded another institute: kanthari. Which houses in Kerala, South of India. kanthari fosters participants from all over the world, who have a passion to make the world a better place. It provides a 12-month leadership training course to equip social change makers, with tools required to run organizations that create a positive social impact.

Already 226 social visionaries from 48 different countries have benefited from the training courses at this unique institute.

I’m speaking to Sabriye, who is on the other side of the world, in India! Learn from the master of dreams on how to make your dreams real life, how to cope with setbacks and deal with people who don’t believe in your dreams.

Come and listen to the insanely inspiring stories of this power woman!

🚀 More on kanthari

Are you a social change maker or want to become one? You can apply for the powerful scholarship of kanthari via www.kanthari.org

You can watch the documentary ‘KANTHARI – Change from within’ here: https://vimeo.com/132126129

Do you also want to support Kanthari? You can donate via the website: www.kanthari.org

🎧 Over Female Boss
In Female Boss worden sterke vrouwen in de spotlight gezet: Om hen te waarderen, maar ook om andere vrouwen en meisjes te motiveren en inspireren! Wat is er als vrouw allemaal mogelijk? Hoe doorbreken we glazen plafonds? En hoe ga je om met seksuele intimidatie op de werkvloer? Welke blokkerende gewoonten ervaren we en hoe gaan we daarmee om?
Ik spreek met mijn gasten o

Support the show

Meer:

• Boekentips uit de podcast
• Volg Female Boss op Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/femalebossdepodcast/
• Volg Female Boss op LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/femaleboss/