First disabled African person to be admitted into the University of Oxford.
Eddie Ndopu (25), a former Head of Youth Engagement in Africa for global human rights organisation Amnesty International, has been accepted to the Blavatnik School of Government at Oxford despite being diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy at the age of two and only given five years to live by doctors.
The campaign #OxfordEddiecated has been set into motion to raise more than R500 000 (or the equivalent of $33 000) by July 31st 2016 to get 25 year-old disability activist, trailblazer and future global leader Eddie to Oxford to continue realising his vision of creating a world open to all.
“I’m disabled and for this reason adulthood remains elusive because I am dependant on others for my survival. My dependence on the world, as it were, disqualifies me from adulthood. We need to construct the world differently. Disability is an offering to humanity to rethink what it means to move, to love, to think, to be human.” says Eddie
90% of children living with disabilities across the developing world have no access whatsoever to basic education.
This staggering statistic shows the ways in which able-bodied supremacy becomes a precondition for access to education and recognition in society at large. These are among the structural barriers young people like Eddie, in every part of the world, are forced to live through on a day-to-day basis.
“I’m the guy on wheels who refuses to rest until every single disabled person in the world, until every single beautifully black and brown disabled soul, gets a fighting chance at living their best lives.”
What we need?
We need to raise at least R500 000 (or $33 000) to fund disability-related costs for which the scholarship Eddie is on never had to cover before, such as voice recognition software, a new automatic wheelchair, Eddie’s medical costs related to his condition and having his personal nurse, Tinno Nene, who must accompany him for the entire duration of Eddie’s studies.
Here’s a comprehensive list of Eddie’s Oxford expenses. The campaign has already raised just over $1500.
Eddie’s activism – for which he has been recognised by Pacific Standard Magazine as one of the world’s 30 Top Thinkers Under 30 – is known to the world as Eddiecation.
To Eddiecate is to enlighten society about the barriers that prevent people from realising their full potential. So for Eddie, your donation is not just about getting him Oxford-educated, but also about ensuring Oxford becomes Eddiecated.
We invite you to join #OxfordEddiecated as we take the first step of many towards creating a world open to all by closing the access gaps between marginalised people and global opportunity.
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