Dr. Abdul Salam traveled from the United States to Uganda – commonly referred to as "the Pearl of Africa." As a volunteer specialist with ACDI/VOCA, he spent four weeks sharing his professional skills and knowledge with a non-governmental organization (NGO) there.

Originally from India, Dr. Salam has visited eighteen different countries, but he wondered what to expect in Uganda. What he found was an organization eager to learn from his technical expertise and experience.

ACDI/VOCA is a U.S.-based, private, nonprofit, international development organization providing a range of technical assistance services to cooperatives, small- and medium-scale enterprises and agribusinesses, and private and public associations in developing countries. The ACDI/VOCA Uganda office focuses on the enhancement of market accessibility for small-scale farmers and people with disabilities, as well as associations representing these groups. ACDI/VOCA’s seasoned volunteer specialists, drawn from a database of more than 4,500 professionals in technical agricultural development, achieve this through targeted technical assistance.

Dr. Salam was selected to work with the Children and Wives of Disabled Soldiers Association (CAWODISA), an NGO formed in 1997. The spouses of disabled soldiers established CAWODISA as a result of realizing their role in maintaining and improving family welfare after their husbands became disabled. CAWODISA seeks to improve the welfare of its members and restore hope and confidence to the lives of the husbands and fathers with disabilities.

Because CAWODISA works on many economic activities that involve many members, it identified a need to cultivate a spirit of self-reliance in the members to enable them to recognize and embody common values and work together well. Therefore, CAWODISA sought ACDI/VOCA’s technical assistance in association strengthening. To achieve this, CAWODISA and ACDI/VOCA decided to focus on strengthening the effectiveness of their agricultural development projects and their management strategies to attain maximum success.

The members of CAWODISA were eager to learn from Dr. Salam. During his first meeting with CAWODISA, a sudden rainstorm erupted, but this did not discourage the group, which quickly reassembled in a nearby building. During his time in Uganda, Dr. Salam listened to the concerns of the association and provided practical advice on how CAWODISA’s projects could be improved upon. He found that the members of CAWODISA welcomed his suggestions and recommendations, and through his work he gained a better understanding of the issues they faced.

"Visiting every project, I studied the strengths and weaknesses," Dr. Salam explained. "I gathered material information by listening and talking to the commandant and his department heads, the women’s executive committee and the board of directors. I held discussions, seminars and training sessions. Several social, economic, technical and legal issues – some very important and serious – were unearthed."

Some of the concerns centered on recognizing and using the talents of the people with disabilities involved in CAWODISA’s work.

"A soldier," Dr. Salam said, "is extraordinarily alert, intelligent, clever. The disabled soldier is no exception just because of his disability."

Dr. Salam, who is blind, quietly challenged many preconceptions about disability during his time in Uganda, and several people commented on what a challenging and enriching experience this was for them.

Dr. Salam explained, "I define disability as a normal thing in humans, who carry a bundle of deficiencies and imperfections, none being absolutely perfect. Look inward, identify your in-born internal as well as external resources, and dig them out."

While in Uganda, Dr. Salam was provided a personal assistant who was a local university student. She assisted him as a mobility guide, reader and note taker. This was this first time ACDI/VOCA Uganda had hosted a person with a disability, so arranging for a personal assistant was new to them.

"At first we were a little apprehensive about how we were going to accommodate Dr. Salam," said Robert Gensi at the ACDI/VOCA Uganda office. However, Gensi gained new insights from the experience and said that he was grateful for the opportunity to learn more about people with disabilities from Dr. Salam.

"Dr. Salam is very lively, warm-hearted and enjoys people," Gensi said. "He is very positive about his life and is unbothered about his disability. I learned that disability is not inability. Very freely he shares his personal, private and lively life: his family, his life in school, and above all, his hobby as a yoga instructor. I personally received some instructions in yoga and it was wonderful."

While working long days, Dr. Salam also enjoyed the chance to network with many people and organizations. After he gave a presentation for the members of the local Rotary Club in Kampala, it motivated them to increase their work in the community. He also met with the Uganda National Association of the Blind, and visited the Minister for the Disabled, the Honorable Florence Nayiga. In addition to sharing his expertise with others, Dr. Salam says he learned a lot from them.

"From my Uganda experience, I learned several new things to help me achieve my goals," said Dr. Salam. "I developed my concepts of the life situations of people, sharpened my intellect through first hand experiments in sustainable human development, and devised different ways to effectively handle a given problem. Now, I feel better equipped to work in a much wider global context. My confidence level has increased considerably and many doors are open to me."