Paloma Rambana speaks to Jefferson middle schoolers

Ashley Hunter, ECB Publishing, Inc.

Paloma Rambana may only be 12 years old, but she’s already accomplished more than some do in an entire lifetime.
Born with a rare eye condition called “Peter’s Anomaly”, Rambana has limited vision and has had to secure special equipment in order to go through her education as any non-impaired child can.
While Rambana’s parents were able to afford the expensive medical equipment that their daughter needed in order to live life to her fullest and prosper in school, not every parent can afford to do so.
In fact, children between the ages of 6-13 do not even receive state-aid funding to help their parents purchase the equipment; children from infant-5 and then from 14-18 do receive alloted state funds.
So Paloma Rambana, a well-spoken, dream-filled and driven young woman, chose to speak out against the funding gap and lobby for the Florida legislator to recognize visually impaired young people between the ages of 6-13 in their funding priorities.
At only age nine, Rambana became an activist with the dream of helping other visually impaired youth to receive the best aid that could be provided.
Already, Rambana has seen success, as Gov. Rick Scott approved $1,000,000 in 2015 and an additional $250,000 in 2016 for the Florida Division of Blind Services Children’s Program; but Rambana is far from finished.
In June of this year, Rambana published her memoir, Paloma’s Dream.
Then, earlier this month, on Friday, November 2, Paloma Rambana visited Monticello to speak to Jefferson County’s middle school students from both Jefferson Somerset and Aucilla Christian Academy.
During her presentation, Rambana shared her history with Peter’s Anomaly, her dream to help other visually impaired kids, and her future prospects.
In addition, Rambana answered questions from the audience, with the topics touching on her experiences with bullying, the extent of her vision, how she perceives the world, her future career aspirations and more.
Paloma Rambana’s visit to Monticello was orchestrated by the Monticello Rotary Club, with Rotarians Mark Kessler and Angela Gray spearheading the project.
Those interested in learning more about Paloma Rambana and her dream can visit her website at palomasdream.org; book orders for Rambana’s memoir can also be made through the website.