Gaza teacher looks to inspire in battle for special needs students

In Gaza City, one woman is making history.

Hiba Al-Sharfa works at the Right to Live Society, a school of over 600 students that specializes in teaching those with autism and Down syndrome. Al-Sharfa, who has Down syndrome herself, once attended the school -- and has now become the first teacher with Down syndrome in the entirety of the Gaza Strip.

According to Nawal Ben Saeed, a special education teacher at the Right to Live Society, Al-Sharfa was able to make such strides "because she proved herself and challenged her disability."

Al-Sharfa works as a teaching aide but one day hopes to have her own classroom.

Many pupils at the school look up to the 27-year-old and aspire to be like her. One student, named Mahmoud, even said, "I would like to become an assistant teacher like Hiba."