The Spirit of Volunteerism

After checking in at the Entebbe airport in Uganda on my way to attend the U.S. Department of State International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in the United States, I couldn’t go up the stairs with my wheelchair. Instead, I was driven in an ambulance (with flashing lights and a siren) to the airplane, where I crawled up the stairs to the airplane’s entrance. When several people in uniforms offered to assist, I told them I would make it.
 
I did make it. Once in the United States, I traveled to many cities from Washington, DC to Geneseo, Illinois to Dallas, Texas. I remember clearly one meeting at an organization that assists disabled people to live independently. Unlike my experiences in Uganda, people with disabilities at this Illinois center had no need to struggle to survive. I asked them, “If the government and other funders stopped giving support, would you not die of hunger?”  One replied, “That cannot happen in the United States.”

It can, and does, happen in my country. In Uganda, extended family responsibilities and the abundance of poverty makes raising funds for non-governmental organizations (NGOs) very challenging.

Additionally, the traditional belief amongst my people is that disability signifies a curse or bad omen that brings shame to a family. I became physically disabled at the age of four, possibly from measles or polio. I moved by crawling because I could not walk. When growing up, children made fun of me or were scared of me. My family at times restricted me to the backyard, so visitors could not see me. When I started secondary school, my father had a lot of responsibilities, so he stopped paying for my tuition. I ended up on South Street in Kampala, where I used to live a miserable street life with other disabled beggars.

I remember crawling upstairs to the 10th and 19th floors of the Crested Towers, where the Ministries for Education and Rehabilitation respectively were located, to request school fee assistance. After many months of trying, I succeeded. I was determined to complete my secondary education, and I did. 

Having been exposed to discrimination because of my disability, I am able to identify ways and means of preventing other disabled persons from facing the experiences I lived through. I was nominated for the IVLP because I was engaged in community action and because I had founded a disability organization called the Uganda Society of Hidden Talents. Every year, we have to look for funding to sustain our NGO projects.

While funding at home has become more restrictive and government institutions less reliable as a source for funding, during my time in the United States I was exposed to another source of support for NGOs – the role and spirit of volunteerism. My IVLP program, the Multi-Regional Group Project “Community Service and NGOs”, focused on how the interplay between many ethical, social and moral forces in the United States create the basis for an array of services that are provided by unpaid individuals. Americans of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds give back to their communities and nation through voluntary service. We explored the dynamic relationships between businesses, government, faith-based organizations and community activists in the provision of community service. 

I learned about other important aspects of U.S. society and culture, too, including how people with disabilities are treated with respect and have equal chances like their non-disabled counterparts. The practical examples and knowledge I attained has enabled me to improve my work and create new opportunities for people with disabilities in Uganda.

I returned a few weeks later to Uganda more determined to set up a center for disabled people similar to the one I observed in Illinois. I initiated the construction of the Hidden Talents Educational Centre, a model school for inclusion of disabled persons in education. Other activities I’m involved in include changing negative attitudes in the community towards disabled persons, sensitizing disabled persons on the dangers and prevention of HIV/AIDS, and promoting independent living and income generation by disabled people.

Following my return to Uganda, I also successfully completed a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance at Kyambogo University. Now I am seeking ways to complete a post-graduate diploma in Special Needs/ Inclusive Education at the same university, which will enable me serve people with disabilities even better.

Through the trials of my own life, I have learned to persist through barriers and the IVLP helped me tap into my strong heart to serve my community. This has helped me put into practice what I observed abroad. As the community sees the personal development of those of us who are disabled in Uganda, their attitude has started changing slowly. In the future, the need to struggle less will hopefully happen too.

Through the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) foreign leaders in government, public policy, media, education, labor, the arts and other key fields travel to the United States to meet and confer with their professional counterparts.