This year’s event, was held on August 18th, 2024, under the theme “Run for Students with Disabilities” and raised funds for the construction of a state-of-the-art Students’ Centre and Disability Support Unit at Makerere University. The event brought together students, staff, alumni, and members of the public to support a worthy cause and promote inclusivity and diversity within the university community.
The Student Centre will feature essential facilities such as a business hub, innovation center, dining area, and a dedicated Disability Support Unit, ensuring that students with disabilities have access to the resources they need to excel in their studies. The Disability Support Unit will provide specialized support services, including counselling, academic support, and assistive technology, to ensure that students with disabilities have an equal opportunity to succeed.
During the run our teams conducted HIV/AIDs prevention services by providing free self-testing kits to the runners. Together, we made a powerful impact and moved closer to a future where everyone has a chance to thrive.
Barnabas Nawangwe, Makerere University vice Chancellor said the support Centre is crucial for students living with disability. We have got quite a number of students with various categories of disability, and we of course, have been supporting them in the best way we can. But this run has been organized in order to raise money to improve the services that we offer to them.
There will be people there to help them. They do not have to go around many offices looking for any kind of support. Therefore this particular run has been organized in order to support this cause’’, he said.
They are very special, you know! Others can see, hear well, others have no legs, others have no hands. So everybody is differently abled, so they really need support. Otherwise, they cannot compete against the regular students and we want them to be able to do that. So we are raising funds.
