A 29-year-old woman who is just 30 inches tall has told how she plans to be a giant in big business with her own cosmetics firm.
Diana Carolina Moreno Bondano suffers from a rare bone condition that stunts her growth.
But Diana, from Colombia, has told how she is determined not to let her physical problems hold her back.
She started off selling candy on a market stand and began to grow her business.
Now, says Diana, there will be no stopping her from becoming a leading tycoon.
It is a long way from her childhood where she says she was teased cruelly by other children who would “throw dirt, trash, and things like that” at her.
Sometimes even going out in public had been very tough for Diana who is gawped at and often mistaken for a two-year-old child.
At one point, she was so traumatised that she found it almost impossible to leave the house.
Diana’s condition, achondroplasia, hinders the normal development of bones and results in dwarfism.
It can also cause respiratory and cardiac conditions and dermatitis.
Diana, who keeps in touch with her friends through video calls, dreams of studying graphic design or fashion design, and hopes to be recognised for leading a “normal life.”
Diana told how the sudden loss of her father, the family’s main breadwinner, forced her to try to help fill his shoes.
She began selling candy on a local stand and soon started generating income that would help the family survive.
She even began promoting herself on social media, and has reached more than 10,000 followers on Instagram.
But Diana admitted that despite her struggles to move forward, her biggest challenge remains hear attempt to be treated like an ordinary person.
She told local media: “We are human beings, and I feel that we all deserve respect.
“Whether you’re homosexual, of short stature, or tall, our flaws belong to us, and it shouldn’t matter to someone from the outside.”
She says that her short stature has helped her surround herself with very loving people.
But she realised the tough emotional shell she’s built around herself makes some people think she’s hard-hearted and arrogant.
Now Diana says she aims to finish her studies.
She added: “I have always dreamed of having my makeup business. Fight for what you want, focus on what motivates you.”
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Story By: Simona Kitanovska, Sub-Editor: Michael Leidig, Agency: Newsflash
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