Together toward a more just society — one that embraces diversity and guarantees rights for all.
That was the closing line on the invitation, and the standard the day set for itself.
On Tuesday 23 December 2025, at Kirfa Sawn Gardens in Bweyale, Kiryandongo Refugee Settlement, Hands For Persons With Disabilities and Future Stars Center for Development and Capacity Building marked the International Day of Persons with Disabilities with a community event built on a single premise: that persons with disabilities should speak for themselves rather than be spoken about.
Why it was needed
Persons with disabilities face compounded barriers, particularly in contexts shaped by displacement, conflict, poverty and weakened services. Access to education, health care, psychosocial support and livelihoods is limited. Community awareness of the rights they already hold under law is limited too.
Underlying both is a shortage of platforms where their concerns are raised at all — which is why the event was designed as a platform first and a commemoration second.
The programme
The opening session featured remarks from the organizers, government representatives and international partners, followed by a presentation on the rights framework established by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
An exhibition showcased the skills and products of persons with disabilities, giving participants a platform to present their own experiences in education, sport and entrepreneurship. Short theatrical performances on disability rights ran alongside it.
The event also included broadcast and podcast discussion sessions with specialists on disability support policy and mental health, a psychosocial support session, and a registration exercise documenting the needs of participants.
Fifty certificates of appreciation recognized participants and contributors.
Who took part
Persons with physical, hearing, visual and intellectual disabilities. Their families. Civil society organizations. Government representatives and donors. Young people, community leaders, teachers and media professionals.
Bringing decision-makers into the same room as the people affected by their decisions was the organizing principle, not a courtesy.
What it was designed to achieve
Four outcomes shaped the programme: raising community awareness of disability rights; strengthening the network of organizations working on disability inclusion; documenting accurate data on needs; and providing psychosocial and moral support to families and participants.
The registration exercise carries particular weight. A documented needs list, held and shareable with funding partners, converts a single day of visibility into something that can inform decisions long afterward.
Follow-up
The event is being evaluated through a participant satisfaction survey, attendance records disaggregated by disability type, gender and age, short interviews with participants, and a final evaluation report.
Outputs include a comprehensive report with photographs and statistics, awareness materials, the documented needs list, and recommendations for future policies and services.
About Future Stars Center
Future Stars Center for Development and Capacity Building (FSC) is a youth-led organization working on humanitarian support, capacity building, sustainable development and peace-building in Sudan and Uganda. FSC works in partnership with community organizations to deliver programmes designed and led by the communities they serve.
This event was organized in collaboration with Hands For Persons With Disabilities.