North America

My Golden Year in America

While attending her host schools in Kentucky, high school exchange student Safira Bibi cultivated talents for sports and public speaking. Safira, who is visually impaired, was recognized as Youth Exchange and Study (YES) Student of the Month just prior to returning to her home in Karachi, Pakistan.

UK to USA: Studying American Business

Portia points out the differences she discovered in the university courses, the U.S. culture, and the academic accommodations she receives for depression.

Al Subir: Soaring to New Heights in Mexico

A university staff person who works with students with disabilities reflects on his own time studying abroad in Mexico and the impact of blindness on his experience.

Cultural Differences Between Bulgaria & the United States

Peter Lazarov from Bulgaria came to the United States to learn about the independent living movement in the U.S. and community organizing strategies to take back to the disability community in Bulgaria.

Mounir Kheirallah from Morocco: "See How People Live in Other Parts of the World"

Mounir Kheirallah, a Legislative Fellow from Morocco, visits Casablanca's sister city of Chicago to learn how NGOs advocate for people with disabilities. Mounir is visually impaired.

Fulbright Scholar Teaches the Power of Language

As a Fulbright Scholar at the University of Guam, Yevgeniy Tetyukhin of Kazakhstan has been able to research disability as an aspect of diversity within international communities.

Assia Hazzi: Disability Advocacy through English Learning

Assia, a professional from Algeria with a physical disability, took intensive English courses in the United States to advance her career in disability advocacy.

Featured Person: Shuhei Onishi

Meet Shuhei from Japan. While a student at Kapiolani Community College in Hawaii, Shuhei committed himself to meeting and helping people from all over the world. Shuhei has Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and uses a power wheelchair.

Expressing Herself Through Stories

Adriana Pulido, a Colombian woman who is blind, is studying for her Master's Degree in Mass Communications at the University of Florida through a Fulbright student grant.

Featured Person: Godson Ahortor

Meet Godson, a PhD student from Ghana who earned an ISEP scholarship to complete research in the United States...twice! Godson has low vision.

Dear Future Exchange Student

Following an eventful year at a U.S. high school, Dzenana "Jenny" Brkic wrote an open letter to other exchange students with disabilities all over the world that are coming to the U.S. in the following years. Jenny, who is blind, came to Indiana from Bosnia as a YES student.

An Important Step in My Life

In her mission to increase opportunities for people in Peru who are blind, Angela Marin Rivera sought professional development with a US blind organization, expanding her own independent living skills in the process.

Featured Person: Angela Marin

Meet Angela, a Community Solutions Program leader who trained at an independent living center in the US for professional development. Angela, who is blind, will apply her new knowledge towards serving people in Peru.

Featured Person: Ingrid Sala-Bars

Meet Ingrid, a Spanish PhD student who received a grant to conduct research in the U.S. Ingrid has a hearing impairment and uses hearing aids.

Featured Person: Sefakor Komabu-Pomeyrie

Meet Sefakor, a woman from Ghana whose proactive character helped her earn a Ford Foundation Fellowship for U.S. study. As a person with a mobility disability, Sefakor is using her fellowship to continue her advocacy work.

Featured Person: Michelle Wang

During a service learning exchange in the U.S., Michelle Wang observed people with disabilities participating in a range of life activities. Michelle is a student from China who has a physical disability.

My International Study Experience at CSUN

With encouragement from her Deaf role models, Manako Yabe from Japan enrolled in the Deaf Studies program at California State University, Northridge, where she embraced her own Deaf identity and researched deaf American, Jamaican and Japanese students' access to higher education.

It Comes With its Own Territory

Samson Ngutwa is a Hubert Humphrey Fellow at the University of California Davis, where he develops skills that will apply to serving the public sector in his home country of Malawi. Samson has an amputated leg and uses a prosthetic.

In Search of a Different Career Path: My Education in the United States

An encounter with a Peace Corps volunteer convinced Francis, a young Deaf man from Zambia, that international exchange was a possibility for him too.

Painting with the Colors Given

Joe Chen is a person with a physical disability from China who volunteered at an American summer camp for children with disabilities.