7 Questions For Shoshana McKinney Kirya-Ziraba
JWA chats with Shoshana McKinney Kirya-Ziraba, writer and founder of Tikvah Chadasha Uganda.
JWA: You founded the organization Tikvah Chadasha Uganda, which supports disabled children and impoverished women in Eastern Uganda. Tell us more about the incredible work your organization does and what led you to start this work.
Shoshana McKinney Kirya-Ziraba: My husband and I started Tikvah Chadasha Uganda because we realized that impoverished women and the disabled were the most underserved members of society. We work primarily with members of the Jewish community of Uganda, the Abayudaya. We sit in synagogue every Shabbat with our community so the problems aren’t abstract issues; we take our work very seriously. Many of our beneficiaries have all of the challenges of life in rural Africa in addition to dealing with disability.
As an organization, we decided from the beginning that we were going to focus on long-term solutions, which meant we needed to be more strategic. Collaborating with our beneficiaries led to the women’s chicken farm projects, the challah cover knitting circle, the wheelchair exchange, and others.
JWA: Can you share a story about a time when you were able to witness the effects of Tikvah Chadasha Uganda’s efforts?
Toward the end of our Volunteer Day last year, we were just wrapping up a day of art and music and cookies with local disabled children, when it was time for the group photo. Most of the kids we work with use wheelchairs, walkers, or crutches.
All of us were lined-up in rows and tightly packed for the group photo. But then, I noticed a teenage girl crawling on her hands and knees toward the rest of the group. In snarky teenage fashion, some of the kids shouted at her to “hurry up.” My heart sank and I felt such shame, almost like I was on the ground with her. That shame was the spark for our wheelchair program, and we now have kids in North America sponsoring another child’s wheelchair for their bar Mitzvah or bat Mitzvah project.
Having a wheelchair means dignity and independence. I believe that nobody who needs a wheelchair should be without one.
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Great article. Thank you for all your hard work in improving life for disadvantaged! You go girl!