CBM / Cameroon

Nearly 80 % of people with disabilities live the world’s poorest countries. Inclusion is a human right, but implementing it even challenges countries like Germany.

But what about a small African country like Cameroon, where only 10 % of the population have a fixed income, where a civil war continues to take its toll and the president of almost 40 years is rather disinterested.

Today in the capital of Yaoundé, there are 26 inclusive schools, both private and state owned, thanks to the power house that is Rita Agum, 32, an inclusion lobbyist at Promhandicam, a local organisation for people with disabilities.

Almost abandoned because of her polio infection at a young age, there’re two things she picked up from her parents: the faith in herself and the belief that she is not different from other kids. This has changed the world for her and keeps inspiring others.

shot on commission for Brigitte magazine, Germany, in cooperation with CBM Germany, January 2019