Hassan Waddimba spent his Professional Fellowship at the Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics section of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center.
“I had never stayed with a family outside of my family. […] I have learned a lot about staying with people who are not particularly my family. It was my first time but I enjoyed it and learned from it. If we had a similar program in Uganda, I would like to be a host.”
Hassan Waddimba is the founder of Grassroots Strategies Africa, an NGO committed to empowering young people, women and people with disabilities to engage fully in equal governance and society. He is an expert mentor, project manager and advocate for persons with disabilities, and is highly passionate about creating learning and leadership networks across different countries.
Hassan was previously a Program Associate at the East Africa Center for Disability Law and Policy, where he introduced U.S. baselines about employment of persons with disabilities to Uganda and advocated for inclusive policy reforms, as well as meaningful implementation of existing laws. His work has given him a strong understanding of innovative ways to utilize legal, policy and institutional frameworks to secure disability inclusion, and how to build coalitions between disability rights groups, NGOs, policymakers, and private employers.
Hassan is highly skilled at media engagement, having helped establish the Uganda Media Caucus on Disability. He has trained many journalists on how to report about inclusion and engaged publicly with major news outlets to promote equitable media representation for people with disabilities. Hassan is also very experienced at writing policy papers and training youth with disabilities on how to pursue job opportunities, present oneself as a strong candidate, and negotiate with employers. He holds a postgraduate degree from the United Nations University Gender Equality Studies and Training Programme (UNU-GEST) and remains highly active in promoting inclusive partnerships within Uganda and beyond.