MTV Africa has partnered with the award-winning activist and humanitarian, Eddie Ndopu, to document his historic voyage as the first physically challenged person to travel into outer space.
In a statement by the video entertainment company on Monday, it said Ndopu is leading a groundbreaking campaign to deliver a powerful message to the UN General Assembly on behalf of young people everywhere who have ever felt excluded by the society.
The announcement was made ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3rd. The untitled project will begin production in 2019, it said.
Ndopu, a 27-year-old man from South Africa, was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy at birth and given a life span of five years.
With an advocacy career that spans over a decade pioneering for rights of disabled young people around the world, and a Master’s Degree in Public Policy from Oxford University, he has defied all odds and now has his sights set on making history in the outer space.
“As we pay tribute to Nelson Mandela’s 100th birthday, I can’t help but think of his profoundly powerful words: ‘it always seems impossible until it is done.’
“With the help of MTV, my campaign to become the first physically disabled person to travel into space is about showing the world that with a lot of heart and a bit of human ingenuity, anything is possible,” Eddie Ndopu said.
Daily Trust reports that MTV will document everything from Ndopu enlisting an aerospace company to facilitate the flight, to his innermost thoughts as he gets closer to lift off, and also his celestial journey and message to world leaders.
