Sharon Auma, 26 years old comes from Telela-A parish in Otwal subcounty in Oyam district. Sitting in a wheelchair all smiles and filled with optimism, she narrates her experience and ordeals as a person with disability.
In 2018, a community mobiliser for CFI approached and informed her about CFI interventions
supporting persons with disability with assistive mobility devices. Through this occasion, Sharon eventually got registered, assessed and was provided with a tricycle at no cost.
She narrates how she did not expect to complete her primary studies since it was difficult for her to attend school. Her brother would carry her to school but on days that he was not available, she would have to miss school, and on other days, she would not be able to go to the market to sell bread she would make.
Upon receiving the wheelchairs, she was then able to continue and complete her primary level education and go further to the secondary level (O-Level). She explains how the wheelchair made it possible to move to different schools – some far from home to help her complete her secondary school.
Today, Sharon is a councillor representing persons with disability in the Otwal sub-county and she attributes this success to the ability to move and canvass votes in her locality. She also owns and runs a hairdressing business.
Talking about her dreams for the future, Sharon lays out her plans to progress in her political career and business and be an inspiration for other persons with disability who may not have the courage, will or ambition to achieve their dreams due to the stigma and odds against them.
Sharon is one of the hundreds of individuals in northern Uganda who have been beneficiaries of assistive technology devices that include wheelchairs, tricycles, crutches, walkers and Eyeglasses among others since the inception of Community Focus International in 2017.
On 19th August 2023, the CFI team that comprised of mobility technicians, project and field officers visited Otwal to distribute repaired wheelchairs and tricycles to 14 beneficiaries in Oyam district to ensure that the existing beneficiaries are supported to maintain their wheelchairs as many are not able to afford to repair their devices in case of any breakdown.
