U.S. Embassy helps disability activists’ visit to USA
The U.S. Embassy in Mongolia recently supported a group of 10 activists – seven of them physically disabled – belonging to the NGO Wind Bird - to make an intense two-week visit to the USA to:
· discover how people with disabilities live, work and study there;
· learn how U.S. federal, state and local governments support people with disabilities;
· observe how the Americans with Disabilities’ Act (ADA) works “in practice”;
· meet with U.S. NGOs that promote and protect the rights of people with disabilities; and,
· learn how the media can be used as an educational and promotional tool for people with disabilities.
Ms. Badamkhand, a Mongolian journalist and the leader of the NGO, said she had been inspired to organize this project after participating in an “English Camp for the Disabled,” a 2009 program organized by the Mongolian-U.S. Government Alumni Association.
After the group returned to Mongolia, U.S. Ambassador Jonathan Addleton hosted a debriefing session at his residence. The participants said this trip had changed their lives and their perception of their own strengths, and that the greatest lesson they learned was not to let their disabilities prevent them from doing more and living life to the fullest. Several of them outlined their plans to follow up on this experience -- promoting English and computer education for the disabled, improving rehabilitation and independent living services in Mongolia, and advocating for a law such as the ADA to protect the rights of the disabled.
· discover how people with disabilities live, work and study there;
· learn how U.S. federal, state and local governments support people with disabilities;
· observe how the Americans with Disabilities’ Act (ADA) works “in practice”;
· meet with U.S. NGOs that promote and protect the rights of people with disabilities; and,
· learn how the media can be used as an educational and promotional tool for people with disabilities.
Ms. Badamkhand, a Mongolian journalist and the leader of the NGO, said she had been inspired to organize this project after participating in an “English Camp for the Disabled,” a 2009 program organized by the Mongolian-U.S. Government Alumni Association.
After the group returned to Mongolia, U.S. Ambassador Jonathan Addleton hosted a debriefing session at his residence. The participants said this trip had changed their lives and their perception of their own strengths, and that the greatest lesson they learned was not to let their disabilities prevent them from doing more and living life to the fullest. Several of them outlined their plans to follow up on this experience -- promoting English and computer education for the disabled, improving rehabilitation and independent living services in Mongolia, and advocating for a law such as the ADA to protect the rights of the disabled.
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