Margaret's Story
Margaret Orech was on her way home to spend Christmas with her family in Northern Uganda when the bus she was traveling on ran over and detonated a landmine planted by rebel militia. Margaret lost the bottom half of her right leg from the blast. She was able to crawl to a nearby bush to stay out of sight and survive the attack. After recovering in a local hospital and having her family help her rehabilitate, she told our team during an interview that learning to walk again was difficult, but the hardest part of her adapting to living with a handicap was using the bathroom. Despite the physical difficulties she has confronted, Margaret believes her “disability has opened [her] eyes; it has made [her] a better person with more concern for others...and the good thing that has come out of [her experience] is that it has made [her] an advocate and a voice for those with disabilities.”
Margaret is the founder of the Uganda Landmine Survivors Association and has envisioned the positive impact a portable and affordable latrine aid device would have on colleagues who share her physical disabilities but who do not have the available resources that she was blessed with. Margaret emphasized that there is no low-cost, local latrine aid device available in the rural communities of Uganda and though similar products are sold in other countries, the high price tag removes the possibility of any low-income villager obtaining one.
After contact with Margaret was made, the M.O.V.E. team was assembled with one goal in mind: make Margaret’s dream a reality. Our team has developed a true passion for this cause through Margaret’s personal testimony, and we firmly believe in the importance of maintaining a direct relationship with this community throughout both the design and implementation process to ensure the device we have constructed is exactly what they want. We have cultivated an ongoing dialogue with Margaret through skype and email, through which she provides input regarding aspects and improvements of the latrine aid design.
Our teams partnership with Margaret and ULSA is an essential part of this project, as they carry out several tasks in the pilot region that would otherwise be impossible for our team. ULSA provides direct connections to the beneficiaries of this project. ULSA is also reaching out to potential entrepreneurs who are willing to be involved in our program and product implementation in Uganda. In this way, we are able to receive direct feedback concerning our progress and accommodate the specific needs of those individuals whom we intend to assist.
Margaret is the founder of the Uganda Landmine Survivors Association and has envisioned the positive impact a portable and affordable latrine aid device would have on colleagues who share her physical disabilities but who do not have the available resources that she was blessed with. Margaret emphasized that there is no low-cost, local latrine aid device available in the rural communities of Uganda and though similar products are sold in other countries, the high price tag removes the possibility of any low-income villager obtaining one.
After contact with Margaret was made, the M.O.V.E. team was assembled with one goal in mind: make Margaret’s dream a reality. Our team has developed a true passion for this cause through Margaret’s personal testimony, and we firmly believe in the importance of maintaining a direct relationship with this community throughout both the design and implementation process to ensure the device we have constructed is exactly what they want. We have cultivated an ongoing dialogue with Margaret through skype and email, through which she provides input regarding aspects and improvements of the latrine aid design.
Our teams partnership with Margaret and ULSA is an essential part of this project, as they carry out several tasks in the pilot region that would otherwise be impossible for our team. ULSA provides direct connections to the beneficiaries of this project. ULSA is also reaching out to potential entrepreneurs who are willing to be involved in our program and product implementation in Uganda. In this way, we are able to receive direct feedback concerning our progress and accommodate the specific needs of those individuals whom we intend to assist.