Lifestyle Science 0 0 3 min read Depression and Suicide; gisinitiative March 23, 2021 Day 30 of #dwarfismawarenessmonth Mental health includes our emotional, psychological and social well being. Having mental health problems means being emotionally, psychologically and socially unhealthy. Examples of mental health challenges include but are not limited to; anxiety, sadness, loneliness, isolation and social exclusion, fear, feeling helplessness, worthlessness, hopelessness and despair. This can turn into depression and suicidal tendencies. Warning signs; poor sleep patterns, self isolation, lack of interest in anything, mood swings, poor eating habits, low energy, pains and illness, dependency on drugs, alcohol or sex, forgetfulness,etc As a big mental health advocate and as someone who has struggled with issues of mental health, it would be remiss if I didn’t discuss the need for openly talking about our struggles and silent battles whether we have a disability or not. If You or someone you know, has depressive thoughts and symptoms, seek help in any way; speak to a friend, a trusted relative or professional help. We should address mental health issues the same way we have addressed HIV/ AIDS, cancer and now #COVID19! Little people are stigmatized, ridiculed and discriminated against by people of average height and those without disabilities. I don’t think there is any little person who has not suffered verbal abuse while 80% of us have been physically abused at least once in our lives. On top of this we find life challenging because of the physical environment being disabling but also the chronic pains that most LPs have and trauma from having multiple surgeries for those of us with orthopaedic problems. Depression is very common although rarely, talked about in the African setting and sadly in the disability and dwarfism communities, we don’t speak about it. Suicide is also common though not given the attention it warrants within our communities. If a person without dwarfism or with disability kills themselves, society including the media doesn’t take it as a huge deal compared to when a person without disability kills themselves. It’s like we are not that useful and therefore our death is not a big deal and can even be looked at as a mercy for us. But most of our people are facing mental health problems. And most of these come from the way society looks at and treats us. From the staring to the being overlooked and undermined, to abuse and bullying. We therefore need to have a meaningful discussion about bias and discrimination. You should all do a whole lot better but also teach those around you to do better too. If you can, support the conversation about mental health among persons with disabilities including Little people. #mentalhealthawareness #TalkAboutIt
Inspiration Lifestyle Religion 0 0 2 min read Compassion leads to Gratitude gisinitiative March 23, 2021 Do you ever feel like you are having the weight of the world mounted on your shoulders?!🙆🏽♀️😢 Do you at times think like things will never go right for you?!💔 Well, I was like you 8 years ago, and I would focus so much on my problems.😔 This seemed to just make things worse.😢😭 Anyone who knows me , will tell you that I am generally a positive person and specifically very grateful! I have my highs and lows and believe me the lows are few but the size of the Titanic, but I refuse to hit rock bottom. So what if I told you that regardless of the weight of your burden, you can still smile through your tears?! “How do you do that?” , you ask.🤔 One of the simplest ways is to think and focus on the needs of others.😱😳🙄 Now you are thinking that why and how do I focus on others’ problems when my life is falling apart ?🤷🏼♀️ I don’t know how it happens either ( I am sure it’s God ,😍 ) but you could say it’s the universe or karma 🙄 ,but I know from experience that When you shift attention from you and your needs and you dedicate yourself to helping others ,genuinely and selflessly ,the pain lessens !💯 When you think of how to make someone else smile , laugh or feel happy, it takes away the focus from you to something else. Something worthwhile ! 😊 And when you objectively and honestly compare your problems to those of others, yours will pale in comparison. Trust me!! What you FOCUS on, GROWS. When you do something good, you feel good about yourself 💯 guaranteed. Being in service to the needs of others will bring you a lot of joy.🙏😊 And a means of being grateful 😊❤️🙏! You know the saying; what goes around, comes around? Spread some cheer and it will definitely come back to you in unexpected but wonderful ways.❤️🤗😉 #gratefulthankfulblessed #ThanksgivingMonth
Religion 0 0 3 min read How Gratitude transformed my life gisinitiative March 23, 2021 Be grateful and I shall increase you ( Quran 14:7) This is a promise made by Allah to mankind. SubhanAllah I have always been grateful but there came a period in my life where it seemed like I had failed in life. I was comparing my life to that of friends and family, the people who I grew up with. I have never begrudge anyone of what they have , God is my witness but there is this thing of comparing yourself to others and you feel like a failure. I was looking at things from a materialistic point, mostly. What’s funny; I had cars , a home and stuff but yet it felt like I was behind everyone. What you focus on grows. So I focused on what I didn’t have. I was SO miserable ,then I nearly died and this woke me up. I was in ICU for nearly 3 weeks and everyone who came in after me , died during that period except me. I asked God , “why me?! “ How come I was alive yet so many had died?! I then chose to become grateful. More grateful than I had ever been. I have practiced gratitude daily for the last 9 years.( set out to deliberately be more thankful) I have been grateful each BONUS single day that I live, and anyone who knows me, will tell you that I have a wierd way of responding to a greeting. “ I am alive “ is usually my response to how are you?! Or Alhamdulillah, ( praise and thanks go to Allah) which is my default response. I get a chance every single day to start over. It doesn’t matter if I am having a migraine non stop for a week or any other pain, it doesn’t matter if I am in hospital or whether I have money in my bag or not. Even if I got the worst possible kind of news.I say, Alhamdulillah!! What you focus on grows!! I chose to focus on those infinite gifts and blessings Allah has given me. I chose to smile at the sky when it turns different shades .( sunsets ) I love it when strangers smile at me, especially the children. I love eating my food ( don’t judge) and I concentrate on the different flavors as I chew. I love what I see in the mirror! Gratitude has brought amazing people into my life, it has opened up spaces , opportunities and possibilities I could only ever imagine. Tabarak Allah!! I am a very happy woman and tell you what, the migraines are far in between. The hospital visits are super rare which is a first for me. Which favors of my Lord will I deny?! Alhamdulillah thumma Alhamdulillah! If you would like me to guide you on your gratitude journey, hit my inbox. I must share this happiness!#transformation#ThanksgivingMonth
Lifestyle Work 0 0 4 min read Teargas , Bullets and Chaos gisinitiative March 23, 2021 In a famous African proverb, It is said that when two elephants fight, it is the grass that gets trampled upon. On Wednesday, Kampala and it’s surrounding suburbs broke out into a mini war zone after protests quickly turned into riots. The scenes played out like a Hollywood movie! The Uganda Police has chosen to continue on the path of extreme brutality when dealing with the citizens! Where is humanity? Something is awfully wrong and we need to address it as a Nation. The violence that ensued escalated into a grave and regrettable event that left several injured and civilian casualties. My heart and prayers go out to the victims and their families. As a Muslim I am taught to expect death at any moment and this is exhibited in the many causalities of the day and such a stark reminder! The majority of the casualties were not part of the protests, ( not saying protestors deserve it either) and they were just going on with their business of the day up until a stray bullet hit them from nowhere. I have tried to avoid the images from that day but the few that I saw have been permanently seared on my brain. Oh Uganda , We need healing! PWDs are often victims of any conflict because we are forced to stay despite the danger being faced because of our inability to flee. Some of us are unable to run, others cannot see the bullets and other objects flying while others cannot hear the sound of cries, screams or gun fire. Then there are people with intellectual and developmental disabilities that may not be fully cognizant of what’s happening around them.I am not implying in any way that one life is better than another but NO one thinks of the PWDs. I have not heard of any death of a PWD, related to the violence of the last few days. BUT Kampala has a huge number of PWDs who are present in the city on a daily basis. And I am not comforted because like most PWDs I leave my home to go out and look for food. How safe are we?? How do we remain safe and still go out to work in hostile environments such as what has been happening? We are excluded from mainstream employment and the lucky few that are self employed, our small businesses are lost in the chaos of such events. Not to mention the possibility of getting a secondary disability in such chaos and loss of life. I have been hearing harrowing recounts of experiences some of my PWD friends went through that fateful Wednesday. From getting injured, to getting separated from your guide to losing personal effects, to getting stranded! I am apppealing to the State ,humanitarians and civil society groups to focus on the safety of PWDs in circumstances of natural disasters, war and conflict. PLEASE be reminded that we all have a shared responsibility of keeping protests safe and peaceful. We all know that those who can’t easily escape when clashes erupt are often left behind. SO, tell me, “ Who is looking out for us?!” #leftbehind #PWDsLivesmatter
Disability 0 0 3 min read ACCESSIBILITY gisinitiative March 23, 2021 I have not always used a wheelchair, I used to walk on my own for the longest time.😳🤣🤣 But my wheelchair is my legs for now and I am grateful for even having a wheelchair. 🙏😢 It is not something I take for granted.🙏 Through all this, my single BIGGEST pain remains the lack of accessibility in my physical environment.💔😭 Plus I have this an unnatural fear of being lifted while seated in my wheelchair because it can become apart midair and also because I have glass bones, it it would be a serious case of Humpty Dumpty!( Princess Sharmirah Kimbugwe come explain who this humpty thing is🤣🤣🤣) 😱😳😅 I am therefore very passionate about accessibility and I feel that it is something that limits most PWDs not to achieve even the very basics. Think ; education, health services, employment and Justice!! A person without disabilities will never truly understand our pain, fear, worry, frustration, isolation because of inaccessibility. You will ask what the big deal is if they can just carry the wheelchair, or guide a blind person but before I answer that, how often do you get carried as an adult? 🤔( not referring to men carrying their wives)🙄 Why shouldn’t I and others like me be able to achieve and do the same things like you ,a person without a disability ? Can you honestly say , I can access ALL things equally as you do and with my dignity and privacy in check?! Accessibility means more than just ramps, it means being able to get onto a bus or taxi with my wheelchair. It means having accessible classrooms and toilets. It means availing all public information in Braille. It means availing screen readers (google it) in schools and workplaces. It means having sign language interpreters at all government hospitals and at the police station. It means exercising my right to go to the polling station and cast my vote in privacy. It means I don’t have to give my driver my ATM pin to withdraw money for me. It means height adjustable hospital beds. It means being able to go for a trip even within Uganda. Don’t 🙄! 🤣🤣🤣 It means being able to run my own errands, it means being independent. I am issuing you a challenge; whether you are a teacher, a doctor, a lawyer , a police officer, a stay at home mom or dad, a CEO, an Imam or pastor , whatever your day job is, 🤷🏼♀️ Llive HALF a day in a wheelchair (no standing, no walking) just pretend to be PARALYZED from the waist down or go about your day BLINDFOLDED. Try it and then we can DISCUSS, accessibility! BONUS: you can borrow my wheelchair for the experiment.😉 #inclusion #accessibility #disabilityawareness
Inspiration 0 0 5 min read Give yourself permission to fail gisinitiative March 23, 2021 Like most 90s kids I was taught to never fail, now my parents didn’t sit me down and tell that explicitly but it was implied. There was absolutely no room to fail. So for almost all My life I knew failure as something bad. I only discovered last year that it’s not. Thank you Stirling Wagner Gapara , you keep on saying failure sets you up for success! ( I may have paraphrased) Most of you are like the way I was before. The problem is we think we fear to fail, but we mostly fear to be ashamed. What will people say? They will laugh at me!! They will say I am a failure. I will never show my face in public again As a child I remember hearing the old people say,”baanalaba batya?! How will it seem to the public? What will the neighbors say? I was taught to fear failure and this is very limiting for a child. I couldn’t try new things because I feared to “disappoint “ people. But then how else can you get batter if you fear to get it wrong ? How can you grow into your best self if the fear of failure paralyzes you? How can you soar beyond the clouds if you fear to fly?! Let me tell you a recent story, I was invited to a a live Tv event as part of a panel discussion , so I was like what if I freeze, I am not used to live broadcasts yet. What if I sound terrible?! I was way out of my league, all the other speakers were politicians or advocates who have been around for a long time. So to allay my fears, I reminded myself there was a reason I was on this panel. I must have something worthwhile to contribute if I was chosen. Plus , I was like this advocacy thing is not going to do it’s self and TV is a great platform. Then I asked myself, what’s the worst possible thing that could happen?! Probably become a meme on social media. What could I lose? A bit of my dignity until the next zungululu came up. So I went for the event and got nervous at the start, later on I gained my momentum and I still felt like I didn’t present myself in the best possible way BUT; I had faced my fear.I learnt that I need to prepare very well and practice before such a presentation .I learnt what panel discussions are all about!! Most of us assume failing means you are finished!! Done!! Wrong!!!!!!! You need to understand that failing is part of life but it’s not the end. This is a lesson I have learnt late in life and I wish I had learnt it as a child. Take an example of a kid when he is learning to walk, how many falls does he go through before finally being able to walk on his own??!A few hundred maybe? Does he give up? NO !! he perseveres until he gets it right. What of the parents, do they tell him you have fallen X times, give up already, you will never be able to walk in life. No, they cheer him on until he wobbles and finally walk firm on his feet. Find your rally team ; Magala Fiona, Princess Sharmirah Kimbugwe, Ednar Favoured Nyakaisiki, Elizabeth Destiny ka jambo Be your own cheerleader yiveni!! Be like a baby, You fail, you try again and again and again until you get it. If it’s that book you have alway wanted to write, that Youtube show you want to make, a business, a marriage, a class you want to take or to switch careers. Go on and try it, you may actually succeed on your first attempt and if not, dust yourself up and try again. Situlago continues!!
Inspiration Lifestyle Religion 0 0 4 min read The REAL face of Covid -19! gisinitiative March 23, 2021 When we (Ugandans) hear of #COVID19 patients we think of an old white guy or a frail looking old white lady. Yes since the end of 2019, we have all been seeing images of predominantly OLDER white people, BUT before we could conclude that it ONLY kills whites, we saw thousands of ; blacks, Hispanics , Asians dying and then we decided it killed only people in “outside” countries. When we think of #COVID19 ,we don’t think of an energetic young man or a beautiful woman. We don’t usually think of someone our age or someone younger yet the face of #COVID19 can be somebody young, old ,male or female. (Alhamdulillah it has spared the children ) Though I have heard children are some of the BIGGEST carriers. It could be the face of your brother, your mother, your sister, father, your wife, your friend, your colleague. Your Boda Boda guy, the girl at the pharmacy or your favorite waitress at your favorite kafunda. The face of #COVID19 could be YOU or ME!! Yes my friends, unfortunately #COVID19 lives among us. It has surrounded us. Yet it remains invisible to the naked eye. By now 12/24/2020 #COVID19 has entered most of our families and it’s creeping really fast into our homes. I have lost loved ones to this disease. I have loved ones that have battled with it and are still reeling from its long lasting EFFECTS with impact on both mental and physical health.. (Harrowing recounts of the emergency room and ICU) Not to mention how expensive the treatment is ,especially now when most of us are in a recession. I also have loved ones who are just entering the STORM! May Allah grant them shifa and us mercy and protection,Aameen. We must remain vigilant, be cautious, be woke. #COVID19 doesn’t know the strong , it doesn’t segregate the rich or the poor. Yes to some #COVID19 is NOT that big a deal while to others it is a MARK for death. The sad reality is that the face of #COVID19 is known to you and may be even closer than you think. To my CHRISTIAN friends and family, as you celebrate the holidays, it is MORE important that you miss out on the festivities, as long as you keep safe and alive. We can always celebrate later when we are all safe and well. 2020 has reminded us what is truly important, and that is LIFE above anything else. As news of a new #COVID19 strain emerges, we need to be MORE intentional and deliberate. So maintain the social distancing, keep that mask on, wash the hands with soap , sanitize , take your ginger -lemon- garlic concoction ne bingederako , kachumbali , fruits and your multivitamins. ( I know it sounds all so callous and I absolutely hate it especially when the omuntu wawansi CANNOT afford most of the items mentioned above) Don’t forget to excercise too! This disease will most likely touch every life so it’s good to be prepared by boosting your immunity. Above all , Be happy that you are alive and maintain a positive attitude!! And we pray real HARD that WE and our loved ones are some of the ones that will be spared from this deadly disease. Akuume! PS: PLEASE don’t stigmatize those that are infected with #Covid19 or those that have recovered. #Life #besafeoutthere #Twebereremu
Inspiration Lifestyle 0 0 3 min read My 5 biggest LESSONS of 2020 gisinitiative March 23, 2021 My 5 biggest LESSONS of 2020; I thought I should share some important things I learnt last year. As always, I am content even if my post helps just one person on the smallest level. Forgive yourself To have a fresh start, forgiveness is ESSENTIAL! So, forgive yourself, for NOT knowing any better, for letting people steal your power, betray your trust. 1.Forgive yourself for staying quiet when you should have spoken. Forgive yourself for staying when you should have left. Forgive yourself for allowing others’ opinion of you , influence your life, decisions, feelings. Forgive yourself for all the MISTAKES you have made. You did your best at that time and NOW you know better. Let it go! 2.Try something new. I am one of those people that dreaded change but I am learning that change is good. It helps us grow into better versions of ourselves. A year ago, I decided to use my experience as a Little person to motivate and inspire others “born different” and now I am not only speaking my truth to persons with disabilities but to everyone. Alhamdulillah. Step out of your comfort zone, I know it’s scary and I too was scared to open up my life to the world, BUT I promise you, the rewards of taking that risk are way BIGGER than your wildest imagination.Keep changing, keep growing, keep strengthening your inner self 3.Trust the Lord’s timing. I call him Allah , my God , my Lord and Master ( let me know what you call HIM ) and He is the BEST of planners. God knows what we really need and when we need it. SubhanAllah Trust the process no matter how difficult it may seem AND keep moving even when you don’t see a road ahead. Have beautiful patience, as you wait on God to write your story. 4.Be grateful Let us carry all our lessons from the past year into the new chapter. #COVID19 has changed life as we know it!! Let us be thankful for absolutely everything. The good, the bad, the scary and everything in between. Let us value LIFE and the people that give meaning to our lives. 5.Life goes on Regardless of how bleak the present is; loss, failure, trauma, grief, change, betrayal, etc, ALWAYS remind yourself that life does GO on. The future has infinite possibilities and opportunities, BUT it is up to you to go out and find them. The situlago, continues !! To my FB family, thank you for your support!!! You are truly amazing! I hope you and yours are safe and happy wherever you are! HAPPY New Year everyone!! Much
Inspiration Lifestyle 0 0 51 sec read Hello my name is Asher gisinitiative March 23, 2021 Hello my name is Asher, and I will be voting in Shaa Allah on 14th Jan. 2021. As a wheelchair user, I know only too well how it feels to be EXCLUDED and FORGOTTEN. I know how it feels , to be made to BELIEVE that your voice DOES NOT matter. BUT I also know that if you want CHANGE then you have to take ACTION to make that change HAPPEN. I therefore call on other PWDs to turn up in record numbers to cast our vote and not only for the presidential/ parliamentary elections but for all subsequent elections. Hello my name is Asher
Work 0 0 1 min read Did you know gisinitiative March 23, 2021 Did you know that YOU can make a DIFFERENCE between a person being able to vote or not? And the great news is, you don’t have to do a lot to achieve this. Persons with disabilities have been left behind AGAIN, in this election. But we want our voices to be heard too and this requires help from YOU. I am asking YOU, my FB family, to FULLY support the vulnerable groups on polling day. We need masks and face shields. Please Carry extras, you can give out. Give PWDs , the elderly , pregnant women, mothers, a lift to the polling station. Carry an extra bottle of water or snack to share especially with someone in the vulnerable category. Advocate for persons with disabilities and the elderly to be given SPECIAL attention at the polling station. Like; a few chairs to sit on as they wait in line. Work with your Local council leadership to see how you can help to ensure a peaceful voting day. Thank you so much!! #IWillVote#Myvotemyvoice#UGDecides2021
