Using digital tools to transform the lives of girls with disabilities

“In Cameroon girls with disabilities face three-fold discrimination as a result of their disability, perceived inability and low socio-economic status. They equally faced both physical and attitudinal barriers. Live in poverty and lack opportunities for gaining an education, finding employment and forming meaningful social ties. This situation is further aggravated by cultural barriers that relegate these girls with disabilities to the background and the limited implementation of policies in Cameroon (Kiani, 2009).”

This is a quotation from an American volunteer who conducted an in-depth study of the disability situation in Cameroon in 2009; it clearly states how the rights of girls with disabilities are violated and ceased. My situation has never been different.

I was born with a disability in a community where culture perceives me as a curse to the family and to the entire community. Community members tell my mother all the time “that child is a marine queen from under the sea, go and put her by the river bank with all her belongings for her to go back from where she came from”.

The socio-economic status of the family and community tagged me as a fragile liability that due to her disability needs to be assisted and fed all the time.

Educational opportunities placed barriers of inaccessibility to school infrastructures, school curriculum and communication due to limited knowledge on disability issues and limited implementation of policies in Cameroon. I could not socialize with my peers because I was nick named “Eboa” meaning I have a deformity on my leg and l limb as I walk. As I grew up in my youth between the ages of 17 – 25 years old, I could not form meaningful social ties. The social set up of my community relegated me to the background because I could not wear fancy dresses and shoes like my peers.

Despite all these challenges, I was determined to break the barriers and make my way through education. I struggled my way to the top by doing odd jobs and paying my way through school. I was able to complete secondary school, attend university and obtain a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology and Social Sciences, I further obtained a diploma in development studies, all in my efforts to be very empowered to overcome the barriers and assist my fellow females with disabilities coming behind me facing the same barriers. My number one strategy was to create a community based nonprofit organization that advocate and promote the rights of young girls with disabilities in my region.

As I was able to acquire skills in ICT and have a good mastery on my digital tools I am now involve in online volunteering from which I have gained a lot of visibility through World Pulse where I have met women around the world with whom we have shared experiences and learnt from each other. I was selected as a 2016-2017 UN-Women Empower Women Champion for Change and my story was published. Please follow the link: https://www.empowerwomen.org/en/community/stories/2017/06/becoming-an-em...

Growing up facing all these challenges and barriers due to stigma, stereotype and marginalization, I was determining to stand the gap of other girls with disabilities in my community and country. My experience has been my motivating factor to become an activist for girls with disabilities. I am now committed to organizing workshops to train these girls to gain skills in computer and ICT digital tools.

These girls with disabilities face numerous challenges like gender based violence, rape, neglect from family and community, limited access to education, employment, empowerment opportunities. They are at high risk if losing out of today’s ICT job opportunities. I am responding to these challenges by training girls from basic computer skills up to job placement and develop innovators to ensure that no girl is left behind. I also train them to make local beads (beads arts). While I advertise their products on social media platforms like face book, twitter and whatsApp so as to enable them gain visibility, the ICT knowledge they gain also give them the opportunities to “LogOn” and advertise their products by themselves and continue to widen their networks. As I help them market their products online, these young girls with disabilities have been able to reach wider customers and they are now independent, self reliant and economically viable. They can now “LogOn” and market their products with confidence and assertiveness.

My experience working with these girls with disabilities has been so exciting. The lessons I have learnt can never be minimize. As I work with them I have learnt that;

• Youths especially girls with disabilities have untapped talents that needs to be tapped.


• When we collaborate and work with youths especially girls with disabilities, we can create long lasting social impact.


• These girls with disabilities have the same potentials and can form meaningful social ties just like girls without disabilities.

The most important remark I will make is that these girls need much more love, attention and concern to build their confidence and bring out the potentials in them.

Youths spend hours online chatting with friends, I strongly recommend that they enroll for Cousera online MOOC courses and obtain certificates from recognized universities around the world. Let them subscribe to Opportunity Desk, Opportunities for African Newsletter for continues updates on global opportunities which can change their lives.

As I commit myself to continue advocating for the rights of girls with disabilities in my community, my career goal is to continue to organize workshops engaging many girls with disabilities to link them to existing online opportunities, connect them to World Pulse and other online platforms for the economic empowerment of women and girls, so that they can share their stories, gain recognition and visibility. I will encourage them to volunteer in their respective communities as a way to giving back to their communities. Through their volunteer works, all negative perceptions from the cultural, social, economic, education and employment set-up will be changed positively.