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"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

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