Edwin Osundwa is a passionate advocate for disabled rights in development. He is working with the Kenyan government to develop a curriculum for deafblind children. Edwin is visually impaired, giving him firsthand experience of the challenges children can face.

Edwin will be online on Wednesday from 1pm-2.30pm GMT to answer your questions about his day job and the place of disability within development. What would you like to know? Post your questions in the comment thread below.

What’s a typical day for you?

I start my day at 6am by catching up with the news. I work with the Kenyan department for education, so it is important that I’m up to date. I arrive at work at 8:30am where my first task is to read and respond to emails. From mid-morning, I handle all meetings, with government officials, parents or teachers. After lunch, I work on reports, strategies and campaign briefs. We are currently campaigning for the government of Kenya to immunise against rubella, which causes thousands of children to be born deafblind if their mothers catch it during pregnancy.

Before the day is out I might meet with groups such as The Kenya Parents of Deafblind People Organisation. We supported families to set up this group, which has 345 members and spearheaded a campaign for the recognition of deafblind children’s education. I am also studying for a master’s degree in development management.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job?

Every deafblind person that we support is different and meeting their needs can is a challenge. Being deafblind is not an absolute, some people have some sight or some hearing; others have none at all. Some people are born deafblind as a result of congenital rubella or birth complications, others lose their sight and hearing as result of accident or illness. Our programmes have to cater to this huge range.

How does your visual impairment affect you at work?

It can be difficult when partners I’m working with aren’t aware of my visual impairment so don’t present information in an accessible way. Understanding how someone interprets a written document if they can’t see it is a real skill. However, it does give me firsthand experience of the challenges disabled people can face and the support the visually impaired or deafblind children might need.

Campaigners have said disabled people are being ignored by global development targets. Do you agree?

There are 1 billion disabled people in the world and 80% live in developing countries. Disabled people also tend to be some of the poorest and least socially mobile. They need specialist support. Yet DfID currently has no dedicated policy for people with disabilities and millennium development goals don’t mention it at all.

But things are changing. I gave evidence in the first international development select committee inquiry into disability and we are working to secure a place for disability in the future development goals. I am hopeful for a future where all disabled people will have the opportunity to benefit from international development.

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