By Immaculate Bazira
Makerere University Endowment Fund (MakEF) is set to hold a run whose proceeds will go towards constructing a new students’ centre with a People with Disabilities (PWDs) support unit. The Makerere Run (#MakRun2024), the fourth of its kind, is scheduled for 18th August, 2024 and the hopes are that it will fundraise UGX 1 billion.
According to Dr. Maggie Kigozi, the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees, MakEF, the plan for the support unit is to provide it with modern features that will improve the quality of PWDs life at the university. These include devices that will help students read on screens better, and software that will help them get information that is not easy for them to access.
“As the management makes a deliberate effort to make the environment at the university PWDs-conducive,” Dr. Kigozi says, “the support of Makerere University alumni, students, staff, friends and well wishers is pivotal. I therefore urge the general public to participate so that disabled students’ lives are revamped.”
One of the students that have benefited from such drives is Harriet Yake Tyobo, a third year student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering, and the Minister for Students with Disabilities at Makerere University. Tyobo suffers from idiopathic scoliosis, a disease that results in painful muscular imbalance, curving of the backbone, nerve damage, and limb aches.
Struggling to fit in
“I haven’t always been sickly. The illness started in my Senior Four at Our Lady of Good Counsel, Gayaza where I first developed complications in my knees and the back.
“When I later moved to Uganda Martyrs S.S. Namugongo for my A-Level, you can imagine my shock when I received the diagnosis. It affected my confidence and I retracted from my peers because the illness affected the shape of my backbone,” she admits.
Hon. Harriet Yake Tyobo, the Minister for Students with Disabilities at Makerere University
Due to unawareness and stigma attached to People with Disabilities (PwDs) among students, Tyobo was left with no choice but to frequently hide while showering.
However, one fateful incident further pushed her to isolate even more.
“As I was bent on taking a shower, a student barged in and saw my deformity. Oh the scream she let out! It taunted me thereon,” she says.
“Statistics show that PWDs are very unlikely to go out to the public and socialise. I quickly became a victim of these statistics but I wanted that narrative to be broken,” Tyobo says.
When she set foot at Makerere University Tyobo narrates that she was surprised because it was different from other places she had schooled at. She quickly learned that the academic society wouldn’t sum her worth by her inability but by her abilities.
A picture of a ramp at the Frank Kalimuzo CTF that is meant to ease access for students with disabilities
Finding much needed support
Having attained admission through the disability scheme, she attended workshops organised by Makerere University Disability Students Association (MUDSA) and while there, she learned about self-confidence.
“Makerere has been very supportive. I remember one time I approached the Office of the Dean with some concerns and was quickly worked on,” she says.
“I have heard about the upcoming #MakRun being organised by MakEF and I call upon all organisations and the civil society to contribute to the run. I feel thrilled that the university management is at the same wavelength with the PwDs,” she says.
She concludes with what she hopes to see in the centre: “I expect to see skilling machines like sewing machines, Braille and sign language posters and experts to better interact with PWDS in the support unit.”
Like Tyobo, Martin Agaba, a second year student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Social Work and Chairperson of MUDSA got admitted to Makerere University through the disability scheme. He is visually impaired and applauds the administration for organising the run.
Agaba is an alumnus of St. Peters’ S.S. Katukuru, Mbarara. His secondary school he says was full of marginalisation and while it had a support unit for PWDs, it was small.
A place to thrive
“There was a lack of disability awareness among students and they would often avoid sitting near students with disabilities. But when I came to Makerere, I felt that it gave individuals the right to determine their story through their choices and opportunities,” he shares.
He notes that the disability allowance he receives from the university has instilled confidence in him and he can academically compete with the abled students.
“I am one of the top performers in my class and I gained respect and recognition from my peers. As a visually impaired student, I got my first smartphone here. It was challenging but software like Talk Back and Jaws help a lot. I am grateful to the university and I encourage the public to participate in this run to further this agenda,” he appeals.
He expects the centre to be the umbrella resource room for PWDs: “They should feel at peace while there as it will avail privacy. I imagine a unit satiated with CCTV lenses, orbit readers, clear readers and automatic wheelchairs.”
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