Youssef's Story: A New Advocacy Initiative on Disability Rights
October 7, 2024 Aleppo, Syria
All over the world, kids are being denied an education because their disabilities prevent them from attending school. The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities guarantees all children an inclusive education. But in reality, schools are inaccessible to millions of kids. In order to draw attention to this issue, which is costing countries billions each year in lost productivity potential, MIRA has launched an initiative to tell the story of Youssef Sofi, an 11-year-old from war-affected Aleppo, Syria.
Youssef is a bright star at school and dreams of becoming a computer engineer, but he is no longer able to attend school regularly because his home and school bus are not disability accessible. Frequent power cuts make the situation even harder for him and his family. By enabling Youssef to tell his story, MIRA aims to raise awareness of the need for broader inclusion of children with disabilities in education – and to help Youssef get accepted into a medical treatment program abroad for kids like him.
There are surgical treatments available for his musculoskeletal condition, but not in Syria. To be able to ambulate and access his school, he requires special surgery, but he has not yet been accepted by the hospital that performs this surgery. We are advocating for him – and kids like him – to access the treatment and equipment they need to thrive and build a resilient future for their countries.
MIRA Partners with Kim Association:
Helping sick and disabled children around the world
April 1 2024 New York/Rome:
The 501(c)(3) non-profit Media Instruction, Resources and Advocacy (MIRA) has signed a new partnership agreement with Associazione Kim Onlus, an Italian NGO dedicated to caring for sick and disabled children from more than 60 countries. The two organizations entered into this partnership in order to advocate and mobilize resources together, to expand the possibilities for children who cannot access medical treatment in their home countries.
The partnership aims to highlight the challenges faced by children with chronic illnesses – and how Kim is helping them and their families to access the medical treatment they need. These are amazing stories of resilience, healing and strength in the face of adversity that need to be told. Together, MIRA and Kim are making these kids’ amazing stories visible and advocating with donors so that more children can receive needed care. To learn more about the MIRA/Kim partnership, contact h.traficanti@mira-ngo.org.
The World Food Forum (WFF) is a youth-led movement to transform our food systems – mobilizing action and identifying solutions to address global threats such as food insecurity, malnutrition, food waste and unsustainable agriculture towards Sustainable Development Goal (SDG)2: Zero hunger.
MIRA has been chosen as a partner in this global Forum’s Film and Cooking tracks. In line with our mission, our role is to cross the digital divide and drive engagement of disconnected youth – including indigenous and displaced women and men.
By telling many previously unheard stories, we aim to source new solutions to SDG2 and spark their engagement with global influencers and decision makers.