Outbound and Onward: Sonoran Center’s Online Training Sessions Help Disability Professionals in Uganda
by Drew Milne
In summer of 2023, the Sonoran Center for Excellence in Disabilities facilitated a series of online training sessions for professionals in the disability field in Uganda as part of a virtual outbound experience. The series had 13 sessions in total, with subjects including Starting a Business, Building Social Capital, Financial Management, and Universal Design. The series mainly focused on enhancing team cohesiveness and support across multiple roles of leadership, training, fiscal management, administration, and employment services.
The virtual outbound training sessions were part of the Professional Fellows Program on Inclusive Civic Engagement. The program encompassed two phases: 'inbound' and 'outbound.' In the 'inbound' phase, the fellowship supported fellows to travel to the United States for their program. During this period, participants could learn under mentors like Wendy Parent-Johnson, former director of the Sonoran Center.
The 'Outbound' phase was intended to support mentors, like Wendy, to travel to the fellows' home countries. This phase was designed to provide further technical assistance and guidance to help fellows implement their follow-up projects successfully. This enabled the mentors to assist fellows with their projects after they have completed the initial part of the fellowship.
For Summer 2023, the Sonoran Center worked closely with United Persons with Disabilities for this project. United Persons with Disabilities (UPWD) is a disability aid and advocacy organization in Uganda headed by Harunah Damba. Damba visited the Sonoran center earlier in 2023, during the “inbound” phase. The virtual outbound experience was designed to support the needs and objectives of UPWD, which aims to tackle the issue of unemployment among people with disabilities in Uganda through savings and credit cooperative organizations (SACCOs).
“The outbound training experience has been transformative for me and my team,” Damba said. “It has not only expanded our knowledge but also opened our hearts and minds to the profound realities faced by individuals with disabilities worldwide. It served as a wellspring of motivation and a catalyst to propel us forward in the face of challenges. Learning from distinguished speakers, including individuals with disabilities themselves, instilled in us a renewed sense of confidence and equipped us with the necessary tools to persevere.”
This year, the Outbound sessions were offered completely online, a first for the program. Because the sessions were offered online, it allowed participants around Uganda and around the world to collaborate and share ideas together.
“The virtual platform, in particular, broadened our horizons, allowing participants from diverse geographical locations to connect and engage seamlessly,” Damba said. “This training has truly been invaluable, and we are elated to have had the opportunity to benefit from the wisdom and mentorship of a diverse and resourceful group of individuals. ”
Harunah Damba explained how the Outbound trainings became an online course this year: “Following the inbound phase of the fellowship, where I had the distinct privilege of being mentored by Wendy Parent-Johnson. We remained in constant communication, updating her on the progress of my follow-on project, discussing challenges, and brainstorming solutions together.”
“Wendy became my outbound fellow, which meant she would be supported to travel to Uganda to provide further technical assistance and mentorship to our project,” he continued. “Unfortunately, however, Wendy couldn't travel to Uganda, so we made the bold decision to move the entire outbound training online. It turned out to be a groundbreaking move: the first-ever outbound conducted entirely online.”
In her report, Wendy Parent-Johnson described her experience as gratifying, transformative, and a means of fostering stronger bonds between the people of the United States and other countries. “Reading the positive remarks from participants during our virtual interactive sessions was truly gratifying. Many participants shared that they felt empowered and enlightened, describing the engagement as insightful and thought-provoking,” she said. “These responses reaffirmed the value of our virtual approach in fostering meaningful engagements, facilitating transformative experiences, and nurturing the ever-growing bond between the people of the United States and other countries.”
Harunah Damba plans to use the knowledge and connections from the Outbound training to increase UPWD’s ability to provide new opportunities to people with disabilities in Uganda. These important skills, networks, and financial benefits can help people with disabilities in both the public and private sectors.
“The Outbound experience has significantly enhanced our social enterprises, which play a pivotal role in our investment and employment endeavors,” Damba said. “We've successfully registered our savings and credit cooperative organization, or SACCO, and as of September 31, 2023, our collective savings amounted to 2.2 million Ugandan shillings. Six of our colleagues secured employment in private organizations, and two in government organizations soon after the outbound training. They attribute their success to the skills, insights, expert guidance, and mentorship gained during the program and the certificates that serve as a strong corroboration for the skills and knowledge gained during the outbound training. We are actively working on partnerships with local universities here in Uganda to expand our project with a post-graduation employment program for graduates with disabilities. These graduates will receive guidance, mentorship, and support to secure employment through the extensive mentor network that includes dreamers and visionaries like ourselves and our mentor, Wendy.”
Harunah has already had the opportunity to put the skills he learned from the trainings into practice at the youth leadership summit One Young World.
“Personally, I had the privilege of attending a summit in Belfast, United Kingdom, as a One Young World Ambassador,” he said. “Much of the skills and experience I utilized to seize this opportunity stemmed from the Outbound experience, enabling me to confidently articulate our project's vision, mission, and goals. For all this, I owe a great debt of gratitude to the Outbound training program.”
Moving forward, Harunah Damba and United Persons with Disabilities hope that their success working with people with disabilities can help break down barriers for people with disabilities from all walks of life in Uganda.
“Our core belief is that work is not just a means of livelihood but an integral part of our identity and self-worth. Our aim is to empower people with disabilities, emphasizing the significance of their contributions and their rightful place in the workforce. ‘No one is too disabled to work, Everyone can work’,” he said.