(photo credits: Scope Charity Twitter)
As some of you know I have been offered an amazing opportunity to be apart of a campaign programme with the disability charity Scope. As a result of this, I was invited to attend their launch event in London where I have met some fantastic disabled campaigners.
To say I was nervous at the start of the event would be an understatement. For me personally, I felt that I would not "fit in" at event like this, as from the outside I can look completely healthy. I am a complete advocate for invisible disabilities, but my own self acceptance to "becoming disabled" was definitely a long one, and so it was natural to feel like this. I can honestly say that attending this event was an incredible opportunity and one that I will definitely wont forget. From the moment I walked in, I felt comfortable and that I belonged.
The afternoon started with some introductions and icebreakers. It primarily focused on our background, our conditions and what we would like to campaign about, as well as what we want to get from the residential training in Lough borough in August. The hours just flew by, and after a half an hour break, we heard from some guest speakers.
(photo credits: Scope Charity Twitter)
Firstly, to talk about his experiences was Robin Hindle Fisher, one of the trustees of Scope. What resonated with me most about Robins speech, was his attitude and determination to succeed despite growing up in a time where disability was not accepted to the extent that it is today. And while being able to comment on his childhood and adolescence, admitted that while society has progressed so much since then, we still have a long way to go.
To quote Robin "Encourage to see society as our friends and not as our enemy, if non disabled people feel uncomfortable see that as something that we can change"
The other guest speaker was a woman called Esther Foreman, who is the CEO of The Social Change Agency, and a professional campaigner. She talked about her experiences of being diagnosed with MS at 15, and the knock on effect that this had on her life and what spurred her on to begin campaigning. Her most recent campaign is the "ScrapPIP20m" which involves people showing how far 20m will get them, to show that people with disabilities still require full support if they can walk a few steps more than 20 metres, something which the UK government disagrees with. Hearing how Esther had coped with her disability and her journey to self acceptance, was definitely something I needed. Especially after feeling like I didn't deserve to be at the event as I didn't class myself as "disabled enough".
After to speaking to other disabled young people, it made me realise that things will be okay. We can all achieve anything we set our mind on to, whether its a career or just doing something you are passionate about. It was wonderful to hear from so many people who are in a similar position and going forward in achieving equality together, regardless on what our disability is.
Love Sophie.
xxx
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