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I had this Idea about two years ago; thought about it for a week and then shared the Idea with a few people - the ones I knew wouldn't think I was too crazy, and they rallied round to help set up a charity. We established Disability Africa - an NGO to improve outcomes for disabled young people in African countries. We then told lots of other nice, visionary people about the Idea - and that's when magic happened.
Somehow, a person's idea becomes real because other people share it. They take it and grow it and then money arrives and more ideas, and moral support and practical help. And now, from seemingly nowhere, we have a presence in the 'virtual world' see FB and twitter - @DirectoratDA - and www.disability-africa.org and leaflets and brochures - these all designed and donated by the brilliant Room 11; donors who give £10 a month or £10,000 at a time; communities who donate land and trusts who give funding to build on it and pledges from other generous people to help fund a project into the future. We have dedicated staff and volunteers who give their time and ingenuity and effort to devise and develop programmes which make things better for disabled young people. Our brothers and sisters who are certainly among the most disadvantaged people on our planet.
And that also is done by sharing ideas. Ideas about Inclusion, children's Rights and what it is to be civilised. Of course, you need services and kit and other stuff too, but kit without a shared vision is just so much stuff; a shared idea without kit is still alive and full of potential and, as our short history to date demonstrates, once the ideas are shared, everything else comes afterwards. But if sharing is the mechanics; it must be said that generosity and goodness of heart is the engine. People need to want to share an idea, they need to get it. There are no words to express the gratitude one feels to all the generous and loving people who have shared the Disability Africa Idea since it was just rattling around in one person's head for a week two years ago.
To see how you can help our work click here or back to Disability Africa HOME PAGE
