Kampala resident Ambrose Murangira has been recognized by the international media organization Doha Debates for his work as a global advocate for disability rights.
Doha Debates is a Washington, D.C.-based media organization that offers award-winning programming and content, including live debates and town halls, films, podcasts, educational curriculum, social media initiatives and more.
One of the group’s recent podcasts, “The Long Game,” features long-distance runner Annet Negesa, who qualified to represent Uganda in the 2012 London Olympics.
Now, Uganda’s Ambrose Murangira is being recognized in the organization’s newest media campaign, entitled “Disability Justice: My World.” For the campaign, Doha Debates partnered with disability advisory group World Enabled to share the voices and perspectives of disability rights advocates around the globe. “Disability Justice: My World” aims to break down pervasive barriers faced by the nearly 1.2 billion people who live with disabilities.
As part of the campaign filmmakers traveled to locations around the world—including the US, Uganda, Kenya, Dubai, Qatar, India, Egypt and France—to shoot exclusive videos of a diverse range of advocates, who describe what disability justice looks like to them.
Featured participant Ambrose Murangira is the Director of Disability Inclusion at Light for the World, a global disability and development organization headquartered in Uganda.
In his video, Ambrose shares his own experience with hearing loss: “When I was 10 years old, I lost my hearing. Although my parents tried talking loudly and writing notes, it was all in vain. I felt excluded from my own family and isolated from the rest of society.”
He goes on to state, “In Uganda, nearly half of the Deaf population struggles to access public information that isn’t available in sign language.”
In the campaign, Murangira urges Ugandan families to call for all the country’s schools to guarantee sign language classes for Deaf children and their parents.
Ambrose Murangira began his career as a cobbler in his village in rural Uganda more than 20 years ago. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in social work and social administration from Makerere University in Kampala, as well as his master’s degree in social sector planning and management from Makerere University and the University of Zurich.
Among numerous other accomplishments, Murangira has served as the Executive Director for the Uganda National Association of the Deaf (UNAD) and as an inclusive development consultant to the World Bank and the Department for International Development (DFID). He has received recognition from the Ugandan government, the World Bank and the US Department of Health and Human Services.
To learn more about the “Disability Justice: My World” series, please visit dohadebates.com/disabilityjustice and follow @DohaDebates on Instagram.
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