 Hello everyone. I'm Emily Anderson with Back Here Again for another year with the Bridging Program. We are having a day in the studio to get used to what the studio is like. So people have been sitting here being filmed. People have been filming with cameras and we've gotten a tour of the facility. Because students will be coming back when they are in their small groups next week. The five awesome heroes will be making a show and then in probably February another group will and then in May another group will. So we're kicking it off today with an interview which we often do and I am beginning this interview session and our guest today is Sephakor Komabu Pomiye. And she we are here today because well I met Sephakor when she put out an email. She was encouraging people to be in a book group for Judy Heumann's Made for Students Rolling Warrior. And that is an amazing biography of the late great disability activist Judy Heumann. So we first met. Sephakor encouraged the students, the bridging students two years ago to read the entire book. We read it again last year and now Sephakor has her own book. I'm able. And so today we're going to ask her some questions about this amazing book. Sephakor would you like to say anything to just describe the book right off? Thank you so much Emily. It's nice to see you again and to also talk about what we normally do. Yes I'm able is a life changing book that I have written about myself. Memoir as we say it. It's all about the journey that everybody with disability can connect to or every family with disability can connect to. So it is my story but at the same time I always say that it's our story. It's a story of changing lives because I wrote it with the fact that there is hope. So I expect everybody to connect to this book not only people with disabilities but everybody across the globe be it a teacher in the classroom, doctor in the health sector, a policymaker, a community member, a church leader, a mosque leader, everybody who has something to do with people with disabilities. And in other words everybody has something to do with people with disabilities. And in a way that I always say it simply because disability is part of humanity you want to connect to this book and see how real or how connected you can be as a human being because whether you like it or not you are part of this group. I always tell my students that disability is a pivot that we are revolving around. Talking about class, race, socioeconomic status, anything, all the things that you can think about that maybe separate us age or whatever, disability is in all that. So to me I'm able is telling you that whether you have a disability or not you are able. So it's our story of reality from home to workplace, transportation, hospital, everywhere in our life journey. Thank you. Wow, beautiful. And I have been really enjoying reading this book. It is a journey and the story is so interesting. So I keep returning to it and I'm excited for the students to be reading it and probably future interviews will go more specifically into the story. The students have, last year they were interviewed and they interviewed David Fry who is a disability activist and advocate and he has been working with the students this year on inspiring them to tell their story. And I wanted to put that out as a question for you. So I think the students who have started writing their stories would love to hear your response to this. Why is it important for people with disabilities to tell their story? Thank you for that question. Writing our story means a lot to the society, in other words to the communities that we belong to. It is very significant to write your story. Our stories are individual but they are also communal. As much as we write stories it's healing first to the person who is writing the story. Every single thing that I talk about in this book, it's a journey that I went through with tears. But today I'm healed. It gives me the fact that I wrote this. It gives me fulfillment. So as much as my target audience is everybody, young or old, I want them to be assured that you can be fulfilled. You can feel that contentment. You can feel that self confidence, that self discipline, that happiness that you can never find in any bottle. So writing your own story is one empowering for you as a person. Secondly, it's change perceptions about people around you. People meet me on the way and when they see this book they are like, oh are you the one? Then I'm like yeah immediately I will tell you a scenario that a woman met me or saw me at in front of Walmart and she was bringing out money. I was waiting for my ride and he was bringing out money for her purse to give to me because the perception about me when she saw me in the wheelchair is I'm poor, I need money, I'm waiting for alms right? And I know immediately I'm like hi mom and she's like I'm so sorry can I just give you this? I'm like oh would you like to buy my book? This is a book and she was so you could see traumatized. It's like whoa and so you wrote this I say yeah and when she wrote the read behind and she saw that oh you are electro at the university and da da da I'm like yeah that is how we change perceptions about ourselves and people know the value we have in the community so it changes perception in the community. When you write your own stories it changes policies. Policies are looked at with a second lens. In this book I have addressed so many policy issues that I address with tactical styles so that anybody who reads this I had somebody telling me that I am solving the problems in my room. Yes so as a policymaker she read this and she's thinking twice how she can solve the problem in her room before she goes to the Palaeumet house. That is another level. I can also say that when you write your personal stories it also changes the history of your family. Yes the history of your family totally. What history are we changing? We are changing the family the history of negative stories around disabilities. Anybody who hears disability knows that it is it connotes negative ideologies everything around us is negative we are not productive we are useless we are evil children those are the things that this book is nullifying so when you write your own personal story it's a collective change tool that you are sending to the world. So I will say shortly that it's a manual of change that anybody can connect to. Whether you have physical disability or invisible disability which is hidden that nobody can see. Yeah wow thank you for that answer. Thank you. There are three students who would like to each ask you a question are you open to that? Why not? Okay. So to get them we'll have to snap our fingers. So Sephichord so as you know I met you two years ago when actually also when peer mentors began at bridging for the very first time the first time when I started as a peer mentor back then as well. Also when we started reading Rowling Warrior. So my question for you is what was it like growing up when the world wasn't so accessible and before for the disability rights all these disability rights laws were passed worldwide? Thank you Thomas. So I will say before and even after because still the world is not accessible to us. Yeah so I will say that it has been a very big deal or had not to crack but I cannot show you because we have some fighters like the Rowling Warrior that we treated in class to the human people like yeah activists like that people like that have fought for us and as you know we have the 504 today through ADA and I will connect solely to Ghana my mother land that it wasn't easy for us also to have the Disability Act as we call it that is Act 715 in Ghana. Looking up to Judy Human and other people from far away as leaders we had that's what fates or hope that we can also do it by what advocating. So as much as I teach you the self advocacy when you are well equipped with that it leads you to fight systems advocacy and that is what we do that is what we are still doing and that is why this book is still even here because we are changing the narratives around disability through the what the fights that we go through every single day it's not possible in the human mind but the more we put our efforts in it by following the what the rules on the ground knowing what we are advocating for knowing data knowing people that we can connect to our target audience who make the change with us forming allies knowing that people are there looking up to us to make that change as much as you know not everybody can do advocacy so that is why you and I even as we will still find some places not accessible not only the physical structures but accessibility is a huge issue across the globe that we are fighting for every single day and that is the interest piece that I will say that even after the activists have established some policies for us you and I are still going to fight seriously to make so many changes today to leave a legacy for the future so the journey has just started with us which i'm able everybody can be able to make the change thank you excellent really really great great spot for court though i was amazed that was absolutely amazing now let's now let's work on the on the next person to the person as i snap about least what let's welcome chrytica okay hi suffocating hi critica when when did you get the idea to writing your book thank you critica when did i get the idea to write my book that has been a long journey but i started very early the idea actually came long time most of the time when i tell my story to people they don't believe it when i tell people that my daddy ran away from me especially my students who are struggling going through the same pain and i'm trying to comfort them that hey you can survive you can still be yourself and add value to yourself your dignity is important you can live an independent life at times they don't get it they don't understand they don't see how possible that can be so it's been a journey long long time that i've been thinking about it i need to put my story down because people need to connect to the reality because i tell the story with names who are some of them are alive that they can ask questions for authentication right or to make it through and another thing that happened was when covid struck when covid struck i was so much lonely not doing anything and that was a bigger opportunity for me to write because the ideas have been there long time i had written some points down so many times that like for instance the the chapter about grieving was when i lost my daughter but when i am talking to people today that this is how i went through it because people still see smiles on my face they don't believe that i went through those hardships right so i have some of the points listed down long time ago but when covid struck i just put things together i was so much and to reach that that was the time that i needed to write it so during covid time it became my joyous moment because i was very much active doing something beneficial to myself while the whole world is in turmoil you know but that time was the time that when i woke up i went to my desk after eating i would just start writing and it was just coming because it's about me it's an experience i went through myself and it's something that i have some points down already and it's something that i wanted to do to make a change so that was when the idea came from long time just like how you are starting now yes just like how you are starting to write your stories now it is coming bit by bit and one day we will have a book from critical and i can't wait to read your story i can't wait to read it so that is how long it has taken but it will come um to an end one day thank you for that question stop hi super core hi how are you good my question is for you is what is your favorite book for you what is your favorite part of your book hmm that's a good question hi i'm able the favorite chapter the very part of my book will be chapter four all that all the chapters are very dear to my heart they all carry some weight but i will say chapter four is where i can connect to with you because chapter four the mirror is where my mom actually built me up to become who i am today what i'm giving you in terms of self advocacy my mom did that for me in my bedroom and the mirror talks about our culture piece of it that when you are called at dawn like 5 36 there about and you are called by your parents when they come to your bedroom and call you and say wake up let's talk that is the point that is in the mirror that was how my mom built myself advocacy from the bedroom that's why i always tell you people that it starts from home especially when you have that as something strong that you can go out with it so the mirror shared the part of how my mom calls and gives me the mirror gives me the mirror to look into at dawn and she still tells me even though i haven't washed my face or cleaned up right she tells me to look at yourself in the mirror you are my beautiful doctor by then i wasn't a doctor right you are so beautiful my mom tells me that i'm the most beautiful child in the world yes by then i wasn't even walking i was so crawling when i got a polio right she would tell me every good thing that a child should hear every day in the morning before you go out to the garbage before you go out to the community that people will throw garbage on you so the mirror builds me from my bedroom because she assured me she tells me you will do this you will do that you i mean great things you will do that and that and when i wake up every single day that is what rings in my mind knowing very well that i can't i don't know how i will achieve those things but i was assured by my mom knowing very well that my dad was nowhere to be found he ran away but i still believe in my mom my mom believes in me so self advocacy is very powerful that is why i wish every parent whether um they are both together or not should really have a way of giving that gift to the child from the beginning because when you have that too from home it's very much empowering so nobody can tell me that i can tell me that i am not beautiful right yeah nobody can tell me that i always believe that i'm the most beautiful girl because my mom told me from my bedroom i know that i am very intelligent even though i don't know certain things but my mom made me aware she actually psyched me to just believe in myself to know that despite the fact that my legs are paralyzed i can still be productive and live an independent life with dignity one day so i would say that is the chapter which really um talks to me most especially connecting to what i teach you or what i work with you on to build you that is the chapter that i will comment to thank you for that question it's a good question you like him yeah thank you