Several leading Ugandan NGOs working on Deafness met at the Ka Tutandike offices on 7 April to strategize and discuss modalities and way forward for the National Coalition of NGOs working on Deafness in Uganda. These included Deaf Link Uganda, Sense International, Legal Action for Persons with Disablity and Sign Health. A management committee was constituted consisting present members with the addition of the Uganda National Association of the Deaf (UNAD). Members requested Ka Tutandike to take the lead in terms of the hosting of the Coalition for a minimum of a 2 year period, after which, the Management Committee would make the decision on the subsequent hosting organisation. Further consensus was reached on the priority aims of the Coalition as well as the selection criteria for membership. At present in Uganda, although there are some organizations working on Deafness as a disability, most of these organizations operate in relative isolation from eachother. The main reason being that they are not aware of the role and scope and for the most part, about the existence of some of the other organizations working on Deafness within Uganda. This lack of information coupled with limited resources and staffing results in many of the well intentioned initiatives being very small and piecemeal in reach and scope to make a sustaining difference to the needs of the Deaf.
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Ka Tutandike spearheads the setting up of a National Coalition of NGOs working on Deafness in Uganda |