In March 2019, we welcomed five Ugandans to Pensacola who were invited to the United States under the auspices of the Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program. FHI 360 arranged their national program and Gulf Coast Diplomacy arranged the local one.
The program was titled Mental and Physical Disabilities. While in Northwest Florida, their site visits and meetings focused mainly on inclusion & disability issues. The group had a rich discussion with Danny Broxson, Susan Foster, Carolyn Grawi, Karen Jackson, Debbie Stanwood, and Diana Tift at the Center for Independent Living Disability Resource Center and continued their exploration with Dr. Lisa Ard, a specialist for speech and language impaired programs.
Pensacola City Council Member Ann Hill welcomed the visitors to city hall before introducing them to the area and its history. Sara Barcellona introduced them to students at Brown Barge Middle School who were tickled to engaged the visitors in a Q & A session. At another meeting, Florida Inclusion Network Facilitator Suzanne Day and Florida Diagnostic & Learning Resources System Manager Lyn Harris shared their expertise in classroom inclusion.
At Capstone Academy, they explored a variety of early education programs designed for children with and without special needs. They met with Vice President of Children’s Programs Buzz Ritchie, Principal Aileen Ilano, and Speech Language Pathologist Michelle Roberts to explore the topic in depth.
The group also attended a community coffee with locals who shared their interests. Those in attendance included Bruno M. Arnold, Gayle Baugh, Jim Crowe, Kent DeSantis, Leigh DeSantis, Allison Dugas, Cherish French, Bernard Kuloba, Robert Robinson, Abraham Sculley, and Jeannine van Reeth.
Exchange programs are not complete without cultural components. This one was complimented by a hospitality stop at the Visitor’s Center where Joyce Black surprised the group with souvenirs. The visitors also spent weekend time at the National Naval Aviation Museum and on a dolphin cruise. Drs. Kaberi and Swadesh Samanta and Beth and Bruce Hoffman welcomed them to their homes for an evening of hospitality as well.
The group’s four days in the region were packed with information and mutual exchange. Gulf Coast Diplomacy thanks everyone who contributed to the success of this project.
