Framing Perceptions

There are around one billion people with disabilities around the world. In many countries, they’re the most excluded and hardest to reach of all groups in their community. They’re less likely to have access to healthcare and education, and in turn find earning a livelihood and lifting themselves out of poverty that much more difficult, if not impossible.

Inclusion can make a real difference to the lives of people with disabilities. In Rajasthan, India, the Sightsavers-supported URMUL Trust is bringing people with disabilities together to establish disabled people’s organisations (DPOs), enabling people to advocate for their own rights. And in Uganda, the Uganda Inclusive Education Programme works with schools to break down barriers to education.

Some of the people featured in these photographs have missed out on opportunities and experienced the devastating impact of exclusion, while others have been empowered to transform their lives and gain independence.

Sankarlal Bishnoi

Following an acid attack that blinded him, Sankarlal found moving around hard, and was ashamed to leave the house. He had to give up his job and rely on his son for support. Read Sankarlal’s story

Anuradha Pareek

Anuradha cried after each day at work and thought there were no other employment options for her, but a newspaper ad she saw by chance changed everything… Read Anuradha’s story

Sankarlal Sansi

Sankarlal has been completely blind since he was 14 years old. His life changed when he joined a group set up by the URMUL Trust. Now he’s proud to have shown people that disability doesn’t mean a job and income is out of reach. Read Sankarlal’s story

Sohanlal Meghwal

A freak accident followed by unemployment and financial stress would stretch many people’s marriages to breaking point, and Sohanlal was no exception. Read Sohanlal’s story

Manju Devi Meghwal

Manju talks about her experience of living with a disability: how she went from struggling to support her family and being unaware of her rights to leading a self help group and being an example to others in her community. Read Manju’s story

Bhanvari devi

During her second pregnancy Bhanvari had health complications that led to the loss of her sight. In her community, discrimination against people with disabilities is rife and people are often shunned or abandoned, sometimes even by their own families. Read Bhanvari’s story

Dallu Kumari

Dallu lost her sight after contracting smallpox. Her family worries about her getting hurt, so she rarely goes out. It’s awful to see how resigned she is to her situation. Read Dallu’s story

Shyam sundar

Shyam says that most people treat him with pity, and some with contempt – if he goes out, people laugh when he stumbles or walks into things and falls down. Worse than that, he says, sometimes “people spread thorns on the street so it hurts more.” Read Shyam’s story

Swabil Magumba

In Uganda, we met Swabil, Susan, Saleh and Hamza. All of them attend Bishop Willis Primary School (apart from Hamza, who used to attend but has had to drop out). The school allows children with disabilities to be part of a mainstream school environment. This inclusive education helps to reduce discrimination by enabling children with and without disabilities to learn and socialise alongside each other.

The school equips children like Swabil with the skills to get jobs, live independent lives and be positive role models within their community. “I like maths and science,” Swabil says. “I like it here because the other children are a help to me.”

Susan Atimen

Susan enjoys the activities at the school’s resource centre, which is set up to help children to develop their cognitive abilities using different materials and touch. The children are prepared for reading Braille by sorting different sized nuts into piles, and one of Susan’s favourite exercises is identifying circles, squares and rectangles.

Susan, who‘s 10 years old, has a map of the school in her head so she can move around easily and enjoys helping other visually impaired children. Through her education, she’s gaining important life skills which will allow her to be an active member of her community and fulfil her dreams. “I like learning,” she says. “I love English and social studies. I want to be a nurse when I’m older.”

saleh magumba

Saleh’s one of the older students at Bishop Willis School, which has teachers who are specifically trained in supporting visually impaired students.

Some of the teachers are visually impaired themselves, acting as role models, inspiring confidence and giving encouragement. Saleh, who’s 15 years old, says: “They help me learn reading, writing and Braille.”

Hamza Kamuna

Hamza, who’s 16 and was born blind, used to attend Bishop Willis Primary School, and loved it: “It was fun, I had learned how to use the Braille machine. But I left two years ago. I do nothing now,” he says. “I wake up in the morning and sit. I only think about one thing, that one day I will wake and I’ll be back in school.” Read Hamza’s story