DAY 2: THE WORLD, YOUR DISABILITY AND YOU.
On August 12 this year, I was invited by Mobility International & National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange (NCDE) for a guest speakership for the 2021 cohort of the Access to Exchange Summer Institute (AESI).
Being the AESI 1st cohort, I was honored to speak to a young group of optimistic students who were visually challenged, mobility-challenged, deaf & signers, or autistic/ADHD. The diversity of their lived experiences was very much the focus. They were all curious to embark on their first-ever international study or an intern experience from the US to other parts of the world (~externship/semester exchange).
As human rights professionals, we were asked to describe life for people with disabilities in our home countries, and our community and international work to advance disability rights and advocacy in education & employment.
Our Panel Minutes: In a Nutshell
- Embracing your identity - When you are diagnosed with a hearing loss by birth or live with a challenge that is non-mainstreamed, it can be an experience of ‘othering’. I explained how I spent my time in the hearing world, learned to speak so I am verbal but due to hearing loss by birth, I oscillate between a deaf individual medically and hard of hearing professional socially.
- A country’s laws determine how many disability-related accommodations you can expect to receive when you’re traveling. Developed countries such as the US, UK, Canada, Australia, and Europe (probably in this order) have sound laws — it would be a cultural shock “disability-wise” to know that if you are visiting Pakistan, India, Bangladesh or Sri Lanka, you may not have caption service providers or written announcements at airports, train or bus stations. Here, I told them how I use app-based ride-sharing so I am not forced to make phone calls but then there are other challenges to tackle each day.
- I was asked by one visually challenged student with ADHD: “When did I embrace my identity?” People often think that it was smooth-sailing for me. It never is for anyone. I struggled a lot with bullying in high school and coming to terms with the fact that my life will never be linear. Fulbright scholarship Masters program definitely made me 200% more confident, more sure about myself — I wanted to advocate and transform lives through amplifying hidden voices.
- I agreed with others that the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) has no substitute in any part of the world. As a law, it strives to protect and safeguard the rights of persons with disabilities (J1, F1 visa students are fully covered by this law too at zero cost to them if they need campus and classroom accommodations: Prospective and current international students to the US, this is for you!).
- We all shared a list of disability-friendly organizations in our home country should a student from the US wishes to study a semester or intern in our country. I mentioned about at 2–4 disability-friendly non-profits such as NOWPDP and Deaf Reach, the national forum for women with disabilities (empowered by MIUSA), and Route16, an inclusive national trek organization. Reiterated the importance of establishing and maintaining a Point of Contact (POC) who has a strong understanding of the student’s disability, their needs and assisting them with local traveling, housing accommodations, and emergency support, etc.
Stories from the Panelists
Susan Sygall moderated our panel. As founder of Mobility International, she spearheads life-changing exchange programs for students and leaders with disabilities.
As CEO and co-founder of Mobility International, Sygall spearheads life-changing exchange programs for students and leaders with disabilities. It was liberating to have her moderate our panel and session for students.
My co-panelists included women who had truly embraced their identities but all had fought stereotypes and battled societal challenges. They are now leading national & global advocacy to focus on accessibility & human rights in their communities:
China to USA | DR. LUANJIAO AGGIE HU described how it was taboo to even say the word ‘disability in her Chinese households, and how prosthetic limbs were not allowed. She told us how she gave a TED talk to speak and how she fought her way to the US with a prosthetic limb.
Dr. Aggie Hu completed her Ph.D. from the University of Maryland and now pursuing a post-doc from Johns Hopkins University and consults for the World Bank.
Congo to New Mexico | NEEMA NAMADAMU. The panelist from Congo was requested by her National Ministry to develop programs for women with disabilities in New Mexico. The minister was moved by her powerful social media stories and invited her personally to move to NM and settle there. Her childhood and academics were entirely spent by her mother carrying her over many steps in the building all the way up, down, and into the indigenous fields where they both worked.
Namadamu now heads her non-profit for Congolese women's social and human rights advocacy.
India to USA | SAMYUKTHA NEERAJA. She mentioned how people ‘assumed’ she does not have language skills because of her dwarfism (she prefers this term). Whenever she spoke up in a conference or walk into an office for tasks, people were shocked to see her ‘speak’.
Neeraja currently runs an organization in the US, Little People of America, which provides a solid platform for employment and entrepreneurship.
Pakistan to USA | KHAULA RIZWAN. I talked about those few instances when employers thought that I was non-verbal or that I would need a sign language interpreter so they did not hire me for a position I fitted in perfectly. I also shared how very few people ‘always ask and not assume’. I mentioned how in my day-to-day consultation with clients, my focus is diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) — in sharing our vulnerabilities and life setbacks, our stories give aspiring scholars the hope that if we could adapt and navigate an independent study abroad and living, so can they with their life challenges.
Additionally, I shared how my advising through Khaula Rizwan’s Consultancy goes beyond traditional application reviews without building a deep relationship and understanding of students’ aspirations.
Through an inclusion lens, I bust the myths of perfection by training clients on adapting to work with professionals with disabilities or non-mainstream professionals with their preferred communication methods.
Why I am a huge proponent for study abroad?
— the experience you gain from living and studying (mostly) on your own from figuring out accommodations to navigating your academic, internships, employments, travels to social hangouts due to a disability or not, to presenting in a big classroom cohort to networking successfully with professors to improving your intercultural competency — you are challenged constantly, so you can break your fear bubbles.
You might feel frustrated when academic rigor reach their peak at the end of each semester but you emerge stronger than your pre-application self!
For the attendees of this summer access program in the US, I hope these stories from us were those of renewed hope for you and them. They did learn that embracing their identity takes time and that they must stand up and speak to be each other’s strong allies.
Exchange programs and study abroad transform you permanently for good!
You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. Be courageous!
I am an accessibility, inclusion advocate and an emerging public speaker (with a streak of imperfection), and a grad student advisor for higher-ed. Through my consultancy, I provide advisory and counseling for students and parents with disabilities for their academic and career success.
Open to connect for info on exchange programs and international education:
