Goto main content

"I'm a living manifestation of possibility": HI ambassador Eddie Ndopu

Inclusion Rights
International United Kingdom

Eddie Ndopu, the new ambassador of Humanity & Inclusion UK, talks to the Guardian Development podcast 'Small Changes' about his dream to break down stigma around disability.

Eddie Ndopu, the new ambassador of Humanity & Inclusion UK

© Eddie Ndopu

Meet Eddie Ndopu, acclaimed disability activist and Humanity & Inclusion UK's new ambassador.

Eddie was diagnosed with spinal muscular atrophy when he was two years old. His mother was told he wouldn’t live past five.

But he defied the doctors and now, aged 27, he insists that no child with a disability should be left behind.:

"About 90% of children with disabilities across the developing world have no access to education, and I could have easily been one of those statistics - that could have been my life."
Eddie Ndopu, Humanity & Inclusion UK ambassador.


Instead, Eddie became the first African with a disability to graduate from Oxford University. And now aims to be the first wheelchair user in space.
 

"As people with disabilities we want access to joy, we want access to dignity. The ramp is great, but it's not enough. We want the whole building, we don’t just want the ramp!"

Listen to the podcast on the Guardian website

COUNTRIES

Where we work

Read more

Elacides, the mine survivor who has become a role model in his community
© C. Maldonado / HI
Explosive weapons Rehabilitation Rights

Elacides, the mine survivor who has become a role model in his community

At 29, Elacides works tirelessly every day to spread a message of hope and inclusion within his community and beyond. The story of a young man who has never given up.

Omaya, pregnant and exhausted by conflict
© HI
Health Rights

Omaya, pregnant and exhausted by conflict

Omaya is living with a disability. She is pregnant and had to flee the bombing in Beirut. Her life has been in disarray for years.

Education for all: Rogette’s journey towards inclusion, a schoolgirl with hearing loss
© M. Moreiras / HI
Inclusion Rights

Education for all: Rogette’s journey towards inclusion, a schoolgirl with hearing loss

At twelve years old, Rogette is a shy and endearing young girl. She now lives in Ziguinchor so that she can study at a special school for children who are deaf.

FOLLOW US