Explore our work supporting youth with disabilities to identify needs and co-create solutions to the challenges they face.
Many times, persons with disabilities are excluded from participating in efforts to address challenges confronting them. This is often due to the lack of a clear framework for their engagement. Our work focuses on exploring whether persons with disabilities themselves might be best placed to model better approaches and frameworks for their meaningful participation in issues that affect them.
Following the global commitment to prioritize the needs of vulnerable people most affected by adverse changes, including people with disabilities, the lack of a defined framework for their engagement has challenged efforts to fully involve these groups as first-line responders to the challenges they face.
Evidence shows that people with disabilities remain excluded from development processes, financial inclusion, climate action, and other areas due to the absence of clear pathways for their participation. Instead of relying on governments to define the framework, our efforts start with people with disabilities themselves, asking whether they might be the most effective at modeling a better approach or framework for their engagement in issues that confront them.
Our mission and vision
To empower persons with disabilities to identify and pursue opportunities for meaningful work and entrepreneurship through capacity strengthening, collective action and inclusive support.
To be a benchmark for contemporary disability organizations, defined not by weakness, but by our ability to empower the people we serve to realize their potential and succeed.
We believe persons with disabilities should have the same opportunity to participate, make decisions, lead, and contribute to their communities
We believe in the importance of democratic decision-making processes where members actively participate in shaping the direction and priorities of our organization.
We recognize our responsibility to contribute positively to society, and we believe that everyone has a responsibility to contribute, and no one is too disabled to make a contribution.
We believe that education, training, and access to information are essential pillars of empowerment.
We believe that all people have the right to live independently and make informed decisions that impact their lives
We believe in transparency, honesty, and accountability, fostering relationships built on mutual respect, integrity, and genuine commitment to the cause.
United Persons with Disabilities (UPDS) was founded in 2020 to challenge exclusion, promote dignity, and create pathways for persons with disabilities to thrive as leaders in their communities. Emerging from grassroots organizing, UPDS began as a small group of 10 volunteers with lived experience who recognized the urgent need for self-led and inclusive development.
What began as a grassroots initiative has grown into a social impact organization advancing social entrepreneurship, financial inclusion, health equity, climate justice, and community leadership across Uganda. Since 2020, UPDS has expanded its work from local advocacy to participatory research and policy influence. In doing so, it has remained true to its founding belief: that no one is too disabled to work, lead, or make a difference in their community.
Today, UPDS works at the intersection of inclusion and innovation, supporting persons with disabilities to identify solutions, shift narratives, and drive sustainable change. Our work is made possible through the support of the Central Uganda Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Network, which provides encouragement and office space.
UPDS launched the National Dialogue on Disability Employment Series to capture the views of persons with disabilities across Uganda on the kind of employment policy they want. The insights gathered will inform the implementation, monitoring, and evaluation of Uganda’s Disability Employment Quota policy.
Concerned about the growing number of young persons with disabilities facing barriers to meaningful participation, United Persons with Disabilities convened 150 young leaders, including self-advocates, employers, and persons with disabilities from 13 African countries, for a nine-month Employment-First Policy and Practice course. Conducted virtually in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University and Kyambogo University, the program aimed to equip participants with best practice experience to turn disability-inclusive policies into action. The training supported participants to launch advocacy initiatives improving access to education, healthcare, and employment for persons with disabilities in their communities.
United Persons with Disabilities organized the Co-Creating Knowledge for Climate Change collaborative, equipping participants with skills in productive deliberation to effectively engage with policymakers. Over 60 persons with disabilities were trained in structured dialogue, leading to an advocacy campaign focused on their participation in climate action.
In February 2023, we launched the Twezimbe Project for Inclusion, whose key intervention was training graduates with disabilities to establish Savings and Credit Cooperative Organizations (SACCOs) to improve access to affordable and inclusive financial services. The project successfully registered the Twezimbe Uganda Graduates with Disabilities SACCO LTD, which has enrolled over 120 active members since its formation. The SACCO has improved access to credit and savings for its members while helping to shift public perceptions and stereotypes about the potential of persons with disabilities.
Building on the strong foundation of the Twezimbe Project for Inclusion, we launched the Journeys to Inclusion Series to address the persistent exclusion of persons with disabilities from key social, economic, and political opportunities. The Series involved learning directly from leading disability rights advocates in the United States, creating an exchange of knowledge and best practices. This cross-cultural collaboration enabled us to adapt proven strategies to the local context and strengthen our approach to disability inclusion.
United Persons with Disabilities launched the Social Enterprises Project for Persons with Disabilities, a regional network of young entrepreneurs with disabilities who believe that by uniting and working together, they can overcome the economic, social, and financial barriers that often hinder the growth of their businesses. Through this network, UPDS mobilized support for disability-led enterprises and successfully secured a government Emyooga grant, providing both startup and investment capital. As a result, over 40 small businesses were supported, preserving jobs and demonstrating the role of social entrepreneurship in community development.
In 2020, Harunah Damba, a board member of the Central Uganda Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Network, issued a call to persons with disabilities to unite around a shared mission of self-transformation and inclusive development. In March of that year, a two-day convening brought together 20 persons with disabilities and disability leaders to explore the formation of a unified association. From these early conversations, a core group of ten individuals came together to formally establish United Persons with Disabilities (UPDS). With modest resources but strong motivation and early support, including office space from the Central Uganda Spina Bifida and Hydrocephalus Network, UPDS began its journey as a disability-led movement committed to dignity, leadership, and inclusive development.
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