The Day That Was...

3rd December is behind us but the memories of left with me this time round shall last a lifetime.

I love watching Sign Language Interpreters at work so much so that I usually take videos of my back up man whenever he is doing his thing in my presence. As impressive as I find him to be; none has ever left me in awe like the little girl with DeafBlindness from Sense International that I happened to share the tent with.

Watching tactile Sign Language in action is an experience I shall never forget.
For those that don’t know, people with DeafBlindness communicate through touch and their language mimics Sign Language with the exception being the respondents or communicators touch the person with DeafBlindness to communicate with them.

Whenever the little girl received visitors that knew the language; I’d stop and watch them communicate for the sheer pleasure of it. Seeing the visitors with happiness written all over their faces while communicating with her made the experience unforgettable. I’ve been in company of a few people with DeafBlindness but none as adept at communication and expression like the little girl.

Sense International finally made its presence in Uganda visible and I believe that it being the wind beneath the empowerment of people with DeafBlindness, children and their parents, we shall learn a lot from people with DeafBlindness and communication between us wont be as stilted like before.

Just as I was marinating in everything I’d witnessed at the Sense International tent, there zoomed in to my line of vision an exuberant and excited man with the widest grin I’ve seen in a long while. Seeing his infectious smile made me smile in return as we made eye contact. I took all of him in searching for the reason for his happiness. It’s not until I saw the film wrapping clinging to the shiny metallic ring of his wheelchair that it made sense.

He had just received a new set of wheels aka wheelchair (probably his first because happiness and excitement radiated off him in waves!) He took off soon as the realisation dawned on me and I couldn’t be anymore excited for him because I know what it means to finally be mobile. To not have to depend on anyone when you have your own strength nor limit your journey or movement due to lack of assistive aides to help you get to your destination.

That health camp from the Ministry of Health Uganda really did a good job in availing Persons with Disabilities in Nakaseke with assistive devices. So many amputees walked off with artificial limbs while children with Disabilities most especially those with severe effects from epilepsy were given table aided wheelchairs to help their postures.

We take so much for granted sometimes that we forget how the littlest of things could mean to someone like communication and mobility. People with DeafBlindness are left isolated because of the lack of communication skills with the hearing and seeing world yet we all deserve the right to hear 👂🏽 and be heard regardless of the manners in which we choose to communicate.
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IDPD Celebrations.

December 3rd is earmarked internationally for the celebration and commemoration of Persons with disabilities to promote action to raise awareness about disability issues and draw attention the the benefits of an inclusive and accessible society for all. Celebrations in Uganda were postponed to 9th December due to nomination of Members of Parliament.
I wasn’t into taking the trip to Tororo where the celebrations were to be held but as an employee of civil society organisation I had to suck it up and go. The trip itself wasn’t that bad neither was the company. Majority of the problems arose in Tororo and if it hadn’t been for the cheerful celebrations and seeing so many persons with disabilities in one setting, I would automatically call Tororo one of the worst places I had been to-date.
The theme for 2015 was “Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities” and most of the speeches from the guests of honour were along those lines. Disabled persons need to be included and should participate in all areas like transportation, employment and education as well as social and political participation. However, the opportunities are quite limited for persons with disabilities and if available, they have to work twice harder than their able-bodied counterparts to prove they are worth the risk. That is if they manage to beat the perception that persons with disabilities are lazy and only want handouts.
I have come to learn that laziness and the lack of ambition has no bearing on disability both mentally and physically. It is in fact cross cutting because I have met so many people especially girls who would rather rest on their laurels and wait for hand-outs from well-wishers. And also met three persons with disabilities who I take as mentors because they are highly educated, intelligent and running sought after organisations. They make me believe I am not who I am for nothing and also show me that ambition is inbred not something one cultivates over time. Regardless of disability or not, if one is not ambitious one will never want to work a day of his/her life.
When it comes to education of persons with disabilities; most of the schools available do not do justice to them. I had the opportunity to work closely with two girls from the same university and suffice it to say, the experience left me with a not so good opinion of Kyambogo University. These girls were timid, spoke in whispers and hardly expressed themselves eloquently in English not to mention the degrees pursued. Persons with disabilities really need to pursue competitive degrees not Counselling and Guidance alone. Who said that is all they are able to do? Physical weakness has no implication whatsoever on mental capabilities unless the person is mentally challenged. Universities should encourage them to pursue challenging qualifications that will enable them to compete favourably for well paying jobs like their able-bodied friends instead of being held back.

Anyway, we held an exhibition and had people buy a lot of merchandise we had on sale and I must say I am getting the hang of managing and running a stall. I should be since I have so far run three of them. And the best part of Tororo was being able to see the two men I cherish outside my immediate family – the one who finally got the – gainful-employment-ball rolling for me and his colleague who without a doubt I know I would be married to in another life. Let me not forget the workmate who put on a private dance show for me during the social evening. I think I need to get out more during the night because I am missing out on free barrels of laughter at the expense of drunk people’s actions.