By Shannon Coe, CFILC's Reuse
and Finance Coordinator
In
May 2012, the World Institute on Disability (WID) made a video using pictures
to tell a story about my experience with the Peace Corps. As a woman who uses a wheelchair, I had to
overcome many barriers Peace Corps created because they did not think people
with disabilities can work in developing countries. After much persistence and advocacy on my
part and with the help of letters from a lawyer, it took about 2 years before
Peace Corps allowed me to join. I served
2 years in Paraguay as an Urban Youth Development Worker, and worked on
disability right projects. During my
service, I did not see many Paraguayans with disabilities in the communities,
schools, or the workplace. Most of them
were abandoned and confined at home because they did not have mobility devices
or assistive technology to be a part of society.
For
this reason, when I returned from the Peace Corps I wanted to volunteer for US
organizations that send reuse mobility devices to developing countries. If you want to donate mobility devices or
assistive technology that isn’t accepted in your local area, please consider
sending them abroad. Here are a few
organizations to look into:
Do you know of any
organizations that send reuse assistive technology abroad?
No comments:
Post a Comment