Vahen King

Vahen King

Vahen King is an author, speaker and founder of the non-profit charity,
Going Farther. In 2017, Vahen was crowned the first ever Miss Wheelchair
Canada and went on to win the prestigious title of Miss Kindness World.

Showing not only her beauty, but her character has won her awards.
In 2019, Vahen was featured at International Day For Persons with
Disabilities as someone who is not only making a difference in her community, but also as someone who isn’t allowing her disability to limit her personal or professional success. Vahen story motivates not only those with disabilities, but anyone who has had to overcome struggles, or needs to be encouraged.

Vahen’s courage is contagious. She inspires boldness and resiliency
by facing each new adversity head-on. She demonstrates that the biggest
limitations or disabilities are often the ones we place on ourselves. At the age of 23, one week after her engagement to the man of her dreams, Vahen developed Transverse Myelitis, a virus that left her physically disabled and dependent on the use of a wheelchair.

Although Vahen portrayed confidence as she was trying to cope as a person with a disability, her “new normal” was facing feelings of self-doubt and exclusion. Reaching a point of desperation, she realized that she had a choice to make: to be paralyzed by fears and insecurities, or push forward.

Vahen states, “While Transverse Myelitis set me on a path I would never
have chosen, it has led me to find the strength and courage I didn’t know
existed, and actually brought me into the fulfillment of my wildest dreams.”

Through the ministry work of her organization, Vahen plans to continue
to reach out to as many people as possible and use her contagious courage as a platform of hope. From that platform she is igniting hearts with hope, while empowering and equipping them to go farther than they ever dreamed.

Vahen currently lives with her amazing husband Vaughan, in Edmonton,
Alberta, Canada, and considers it a true honour and privilege to share her story of hope and courage with the world.