Hi everyone! Today marks the start of an incredible learning and serving experience. I, along with 15 classmates and 3 professors are on our way to Kampala, Uganda!
While in Uganda we will have the awesome opportunity to work with a non-profit organization called Hope Speaks. This organization was started by Calvin graduates, and strives to bring much needed therapy to underserved populations in Uganda. They provide speech therapy, community education, and advocacy for those with disabilities. Soon they will be expanding to offer physical and occupational therapy services as well!
These services are very valuable to this country where 1 in 7 children live with a disability. Often these children are seen as a shame to the family and are hidden away in the house so the community won’t know about them. Many times the fathers will blame the mother for the child’s disability and leave the family.
Those children with disabilities who do make it to school are often separated into a “dumb” class, and not given the attention that they need. Schools are often ashamed of these children and send them far away when the mandatory standardized testing is administered . Often children with disabilities end up dropping out of school at a very young age.
There is also a strong social stigma surrounding those with disabilities. Ben (the founder of Hope Speaks) told us that people will often cross the street or exit public transportation to avoid “catching” what the disabled person has. Taxis and other forms of private transportation will often charge a ridiculous amount to those with disabilities.
For these reasons Hope Speaks has a strong focus on community education, and on teaching parents that their children are not shameful, but rather children of God. They strive to make even a small dent into societies understanding of disabilities.
We do not know exactly how we will be helping day to day, but we do know that the extra boots on the ground will help Hope Speaks provide extra services in both their main therapy center and their community clinics! I will be updating as often as possible on the work we are doing there!
As a Recreational Therapy major I am especially excited to interact with those with disabilities, learn how recreation fits into a third world lifestyle, and help in any way I can. Although I do not know much about Speech Therapy, there are many similar concepts that I can draw off of, and learn from as I go!
On a personal note I am very excited to see what God has in store for me over these next couple weeks! Although we are not there long enough to bring about any major changes, I know that God works in the small things as well. My hope is that he works through me to care for and show compassion to each and every person I come in contact with. My goal is to be a mirror of God’s love onto each person I meet!
Please pray for me and my classmates as we make this long journey overseas. We left this morning (Monday) at 8:45 am from Calvin, and hope to be in Kampala by 11:30pm (3:30 pm Michigan time) tomorrow (Tuesday)That’s over 31 hours of travel! Please also pray that we can make even a small impact in the people and places that we serve!
Thank you for reading, and I will do my best to update as much as possible!
~Erica
Disability and Hope in Uganda 