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As a beneficiary of the Ford Foundation through the scholarship that Ressa received to pursue his Master ' s , one requirement was to be involved in advocacy work . This meshes very well with Ressa ' s upbringing . He grew up in a low-income country but has also experienced life in a western country with different barriers , principles , and living standards .
In 2019 , when the Black Lives Matter movement was at its height , Ressa was part of a group of people with varying abilities and disabilities working towards disability awareness in Detroit , Michigan . Through this work , they were not only fighting for the lives of black people but black disabled people as well . " We were very involved , not necessarily in condemning the law enforcement but saying , well , this is a great opportunity to expand the dialogue about coexistence and reciprocal relationship . How can law enforcement learn from people with disabilities ?" he said . Light was shed on police violence , but they extended the conversation by mentioning the treatment of people with physical and cognitive disabilities . Disabilities are not limited to one race or culture , but Ressa brought to light the treatment that especially Black people with disabilities face regarding their interactions with law enforcement .
Working towards universal accessibility , awareness , and opportunities for people with disabilities betters society as a whole , Ressa said .
Ressa ' s work doesn ' t end in the United States ; The Ford Foundation wanted Ressa to be a transnational disability advocate . Ressa has worked head-on , especially in the Kenyan desert . Mostly in the Turkana desert areas , people with disabilities are left behind and even killed as infants .
Resources are rich but
Ressa with families living in Turkana Desert
education is scarce , and as families are nomadic and move with the season , mobility is often an issue that many face . Ressa works to create awareness of the problems within the area , even though these low-income countries do not have the finances for many changes like highincome countries have . Inclusive education is vital in Ressa ' s mind ; he wants to create mobile schools around those areas ; in turn , students with disabilities and families can more easily obtain the education they deserve and need .
Ressa said , " When you grow up with challenges , it gives you an opportunity to innovate ." He is persuading the government to invest in mobile schools so