In December last year, Uganda’s state minister for the disabled and elderly, Sulaiman Madada, called on PWD leaders to lobby and advocate for the disabled so that they can develop.

At the 8th general meeting of the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda in Kampala, a ministry official read the minister’s statement which reminded the audience that aid to PWDs (Persons with Disabilities) had reduced, and so more needed to be done to empower them though skills and hard work. 

At the same event, the National Council for Disability programme officer, Samuel Mari, called for ‘unity, networking and collaboration’ among PWDs.  Alex Ndeezi, the PWD central region MP, praised the laws enacted to improve the situation for PWDs, but said they still faced the obstacles of illiteracy, disease and poverty.

One organisation that has played a vital role in reducing these barriers for the 3.5% of Uganda’s population with disabilities is the National Union of Disabled Persons in Uganda (NUDIPU), formed in 1987.  With the slogan, “Nothing for us without us”, they have fought to change perceptions and obtain better treatment for over 900,000 Ugandans.  This has been achieved through press conferences and TV talk shows, attracting high numbers of callers, and resulting in an increased number of media organisations reporting on disability.  The Ugandan Constitution now formally recognises that all people have a right to education; and schools are becoming more accessible and teachers better trained.  Sign language has been accepted as an official language, and has been incorporated in some schools as a teaching language.  NUDIPU have also fought to allow disabled people to access loans and other financial services, so they are not seen as just objects of charity.

Margaret Gune, a politician from Eastern Uganda says:
“I was determined as a child to succeed in spite of my disability.  I am now a community leader and politician defending the rights of both the disabled and able-bodies.  Disability to me is a state of mind that can be overcome.”
Margaret is not the only person to feel this way: there are councillors representing PWDs at all local government councils across the country, and five member of parliament now represent people with disabilities in the National Legislative Assembly.

Disability events have a high profile in Uganda.  As part of the International Day of Persons with Disability (IDD), general assemblies of Uganda National Association of the Deaf (UNAD) and NUDIPU.  These were attended by Hisayo Katsui, a disability researcher.  The reports of the events in the town of Mbarara in the West were encouraging – a march through the town with banners, performances by groups of disabled adults and children, and the attendance of the Minister of Gender, Labour and Social Protection.  This positive picture was somewhat undermined, however, when Katsui visited villages to meet deaf women in their homes.  The three women she met did not even known about the international, national and locals events to celebrate IDD; and one of the women related how her mother called her ‘kasiru’ (stupid) all the time.

This story serves as a useful reminder that, despite great advances made by organisations and legislature, there is a lot more still to be done.