The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Road safety ambassador
Sadly, road crashes remain a big part of her life. Recently, she says, her brother was involved in a crash.
“The whole car got all smashed but because he had a seat belt he got out all fine,” she says, “That was a good thing for our family because we could have easily lost someone in the family.”
Kangume who has become a road safety ambassador of sorts says it’s dangerous that Ugandans do not wear seat belts because she knows seat belts save lives. She also advocates for responsible driving, including not driving under the influence of alcohol. She has no kind words for people who drive cars with government-registered plates.
“They drive so carelessly with no regard for other road users,” she says.
Going forward, Kangume says she wants to become “a big mentor” of young girls and boys around the world.
“I want these boys and girls to look at me and say ‘I want to be strong and positive like her.’ I want them to be brave and positive like me and know that they can achieve anything they put their minds to. That will give me joy.”
She also hopes to grow her organisation into a big rehabilitation centre taking care of amputees. “We want to offer the psychosocial therapy that people of my kind badly need. Out there is not easy when you are dealing with disability.”
She says Kampala’s transport system is quite challenging but so are other public spaces. She says she does not use taxis because she finds most of the operators mean. She recalls an incident when a friend convinced her to ride a taxi with him and it went badly.
“Even before I could hop into the taxi, the driver bluntly told me that his taxi can’t carry disabled people.
“That was so emotionally torturing for someone like me because I never set out to be lame. People forget that this is something that can happen to anyone anytime.”
Kangume says she knows that God gave her a second chance to life to change the world in any way she can and she takes her Christian beliefs seriously.
“I know I have been through a lot and most people would think I don’t like God but actually I love that ‘gentleman,’” she says, “I know that even when I was stubborn, he stood by me and he is the very reason I am alive.”
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