It suffices to day that if you have a disability of any sort in the developed world life can be tough. If you have a disability in the developing world life can truly become a nightmare.
I have just come back from Lamu where I met a family(a German man and an Irish woman) passionately interested in building a school for people with disabilities integrated with a school for able bodied people on Manda island (just off Lamu). They have some funding and want to engage with Camara on the technical aspects of the project - everything from computers to networking and the supply of power (could somebody please invent an easy way to generate power for an island community in the developing world!).
Part of the reason the family are so passionate about building this school is their 25 years of experience living in Africa witnessing how awful life can be for somebody with a disability. Some of the stories included children being burned (to remove the devil from them), children being tied to a stake all day as you might do to a dog and much, much worse (so bad were some of the stories that I honestly cannot write them down here).
Amazingly they excused these awful acts on the basis of people being uneducated, superstitious and scared of the afterlife! This made me realise in a very direct way why education is so important in Africa. In fact I genuinely believe that ALL interventions in the developing world have to involve education or you are just wasting your time and valuable resources.
The wonderful thing about technology these days is that it can transform a persons life if it is used properly. A wonderful example of this is how Stuart Mangan was able to participate in life because of his ability to connect to a computer with his voice. Stuart had about the most extreme form of spinal injury that left him paralysed from the neck downwards and necessitated him using a ventilator. And yet through his voice he could use email, check his bills, text his friends, do research via the web, video conference his family and so on....
Wouldn't it be wonderful if these same tools were made available to people with disability in the developing world?
Well, this goal is not too far away. In Ubuntu (the free open source operating system we use in Camara) there is an accessible section being developed by concerned and brilliant programmers from all around the world.
As this part of Ubuntu evolves, so will expertise on its usefulness develop here in the hub. And one perspective will ultimately help the other.
I think it would be marvelous if Camara technology and people could drive the accessibility agenda in Africa....
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When I was in Kenya during the summer I met a boxer called Dick 'Tiger' Murunga who at the age of 17, won a bronze medal in the welterweight division in the '72 Olympics. In 2002 Dick started developing health problems in his knees (probably due to over training as a boxer) and is now confined to a wheelchair. Since then he has been campaigning for the rights of people with disabilities in Kenya.
Earlier this year he was putting together a proposal for a huge accessible campus just north of Mombasa that included a sports center for Paraolympians, a hospital, a conference center and a resort for people with disabilities. The idea is to essentially allow people with disabilities to travel to Kenya in order to create awareness around the core issues people face here.
Things have moved on since then. Land has been acquired, funds are coming in and the plan is to start building the facility in the middle of next year. Check out the website:
http://www.dt72.org/
Dick is an extremely passionate man. He is also a real 'fighter' and I have no doubt that if anyone can realise this ambitious project he can.
If the project goes ahead, Camara will have an accessible lab on the campus.
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