Allan Kabaale will be spending his Fellowship at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, located in Oklahoma City.

He will get to observe a diverse array of programs and partnerships that engage individuals with disabilities, their families, employers and other stakeholders in creating opportunities for inclusive employment. He will also be able to learn strategies to promote effective advocacy. These include Project SEARCH and the DisABILITY Coalition, which promote self-empowerment and have influenced the post-Fellowship work of two previous PFP-IDE alumni from Uganda, Hassan Waddimba (Spring 2018) and David Nangosi (Fall 2019).

The University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center regularly collaborates with local and regional public health and rehabilitation officials, including the Oklahoma Developmental Disability Services and the Department of Rehabilitation Services. The University of Oklahoma works on two federally funded projects: Add Us In, sponsored by the national Office of Disability Employment Policy, and the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Project, funded by the Social Security Administration. Visiting Fellows will be able to learn best practices from existing programs and contribute to a new pilot project at the center, Oklahoma Works for All. The exchange of ideas during this collaboration will help Fellow and host partner to design an outstanding Fellowship project plan.

Dr. Megan Peters, LEND Program Director (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities) has also hosted Gamariel Mboya-Mbeya, as well as Idah Sendagala, another PFP-IDE Fellow and consultant physiotherapist at the Nerves and Bones Rehabilitation Center in Uganda. The placement will offer unique opportunities for Fellows to collaborate and learn from each other as well. Dr. Peters is a veteran host of the PFP-IDE Program, and this is her third time mentoring a Fellow.