Diagnosed with arthritis at 24, she set out to hike... and change an unequal society

Subscribers to Joshuanette Francis's YouTube channel – set up to document her journey after being diagnosed with osteoarthritis at just 24 – did not see the tears.

Neither were they privy to the days when she tackled the most acute personal struggles, alone behind closed doors.

After being told she could lose the ability to walk by age 40, Joshuanette was determined to embrace life, hiking every nature trail in her native Antigua and visiting each one of the Caribbean island's touted 365 beaches while she still could.

Consistently upbeat and smiling in her videos and in public, her private tears were amplified when she lost her job as a restaurant supervisor - because of her condition, she says - followed by her mortgage and her dream of building her own home.

Six years on, the young mother's sunny persona is the one she uses to fight her public battle: championing the rights of others living with a disability in a country where inequity is rife and crucial resources are in short supply.

She channels her energy into a pioneering non-profit she founded in 2023, Good Humans 268, which strives for a brighter future for people with physical challenges.

"Arthritis has changed my life so much, I can only imagine what it must be like for someone with a major disability," Joshuanette tells the BBC.

Osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease that causes pain and stiffness, typically affects older people, but can strike at any age.

"I couldn't believe it when I was diagnosed. My biggest fear was, what happens to life now?" Joshuanette says.

Good Humans' far-reaching work ranges from pushing for the establishment of an equal rights tribunal to preside over purported discriminatory practices, to a recycling programme that in turn employs local residents with disabilities.

The latter has already been implemented in more than 80 local schools, diverting about a million bottles and cans from the national dump site. Eight people have been hired to sort and process, and sometimes repurpose, the waste.

Good Humans has also launched a nationwide educational programme to encourage more residents to recycle, something Kelisha Pigott was employed to assist with.

She says working with the organisation has been life-changing.

"There are a lot of people with disabilities out there who have no one to turn to. Joshuanette has moulded me to believe in myself more. It's because of her that I took the chance to apply for university and got in," Kelisha enthuses.

She hopes her online degree in tourism management will help her eventually merge her small travel company with Good Humans to create additional job opportunities.

"Change starts with us. I was amazed to see how much plastic we diverted from landfill in a short space of time; imagine if everyone did it," she says.

There have been some smaller triumphs too. Like the case of the 10-year-old girl who for several years couldn't use the toilet at school unassisted because of the lack of wheelchair-friendly facilities. That indignity went largely overlooked until Joshuanette took it on as a personal endeavour, leading to the creation of an accessible bathroom.

"We must shift the way we do things. People with disabilities must be able to do the same things everyone else can," Joshuanette says passionately. "I'm so excited by what I know Good Humans can achieve."

Plans include rolling out the recycling scheme to private households and ultimately creating a purpose-built centre to consolidate the group's diverse work.

Still, she's aware of the challenges ahead. Even a stroll around the capital, St John's, is fraught with hazards for many with an impairment, thanks to omnipresent open gutters, crudely covered drains and cracked paving.

"Accessibility is a serious concern," says Bernard Warner, head of the country's disability association. "For a start, there's a lack of access to assistive devices to help people live more meaningfully."

Both Bernard's group and Good Humans have been calling for legislation passed in 2017, which seeks to protect the rights of those with disabilities, to be enforced. An equal rights tribunal was a key part of the act, but has never been created.

"There's a lot of discrimination; people are treated with indifference or turned away from employment opportunities," Bernard says. "And due to poverty, most don't have money to hire lawyers."

Bernard lost his right leg when his motorbike was struck by a drunk driver in 1996. Despite a lengthy court case, which ruled in his favour, he has never received compensation.

"After years of torment, I now rally for a better society," he explains. "We have to alter our mindset with how we view people with disabilities. We've been leaving them out for too long. Even now, I see high-rise buildings going up with no disability access," he adds.

Kelly Hedges, principal of the Victory Centre for children with special needs, agrees. Her school currently has 27 students aged five to 18.

"The challenge is, when students leave us as young adults, where do they go? People are still wary about hiring people with special needs or disabilities. Unless they have personal connections or can go to work with a parent, they generally just stay home," she says.

The Victory Centre is among the schools to have joined Good Humans' recycling scheme.

"As Good Humans becomes bigger and needs more staff, hopefully our children can segue into positions there, become contributing members of society and live more independently," Kelly adds.

Joshuanette believes that mental health should be a key focus of disability awareness. Despite her largely positive outlook, she admits depression struck again recently when she turned 30 and still could not afford her own home.

She continues to battle for compensation against the company she says fired her unfairly.

"Fighting is exhausting," she says. "But change will only happen when more people talk about disability and demand change."