Sunday Emmanuel Onuche
Age: 33
Country of Birth: Nigeria
Role: Inclusion advocate. Convener, The VisionLink Initiative, strengthening the self-reliance of the Youths and Persons With Disabilities
LinkedIn: Sunday Emmanuel Onuche
Sunday Emmanuel Onuche, a thirty-three-year-old young African leader from Nigeria, is visually impaired and focuses on health and sanitation in his project area. He is dedicated to helping people with disabilities and seeks to enhance his leadership skills to advocate for individuals living with disabilities in his community.
Sunday serves as an inclusion advocate and is the convener of The VisionLink Initiative, which aims to strengthen the self-reliance of youth and persons with disabilities. Through his role, Sunday actively promotes the rights of persons with disabilities, particularly girls and youth, through advocacy and empowerment initiatives. He volunteers with various organizations, providing leadership training, personal development, and empowerment opportunities for individuals with disabilities and young people.
With three years of experience as an education counselor, Sunday currently works as a visiting educational counselor in secondary schools across Nigeria. He focuses on addressing the educational, professional, and personal needs of his students, drawing from his own journey and experiences. Sunday holds a bachelor’s degree in Counselor Education.
Motivated by the belief that “Nothing is impossible for the willing mind,” Sunday is committed to fostering inclusivity and self-reliance among youth and persons with disabilities. He aims to provide them with positive role models, deliberate nurturing, and leadership opportunities. After completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, Sunday plans to leverage the skills acquired during the fellowship to collaborate with others in developing an “inclusion work consortium.” This consortium will tackle unemployment issues in Nigeria and ensure equal opportunities for all.
Victor Itanda Busika
Age: 36
Country of Birth: Democratic Republic of Congo
Role: Human Rights activist, disability issues specialist , Youth Leadership Consultant (DRC)
LinkedIn: Victor Busika
Victor Itanda Busika, a thirty-six-year-old young African leader from the Democratic Republic of Congo, is dedicated to promoting disability rights and social inclusion in his project area of Disability and Sign Data. His interest lies in acquiring professional skills and NGO management to support his work in the DRC.
Victor plays a crucial role as a human rights activist, disability issues specialist, and youth leadership consultant in the DRC. He currently serves as the national social coordinator at the Kadiwaku Foundation, where he focuses on advocating for disability rights and promoting social inclusion. In this capacity, Victor organizes and leads meetings with representative bodies and disability organizations to facilitate social dialogue and collaborates with the foundation’s partners on programs and projects.
Additionally, Victor contributes to the Survey Supervision Program, collecting information about attitudes and behaviors towards individuals with disabilities in Kisangani. He also serves as an English-French interpreter, offering his consulting services to journalists, local disability organizations, and government authorities.
Victor finds fulfillment in volunteering with various organizations that support albinos, address skin cancer, and provide sports programs for the visually impaired. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology Management. Motivated by a desire to create awareness of fundamental rights and provide capacity-building training, Victor plans to implement humanitarian assistance programs after completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. His goal is to establish a networking system that empowers marginalized individuals, fights against discrimination, and addresses unfair treatment.
Elon Kipngetich Bett
Age: 26
Country of Birth: Kenya
Elon Kipngetich Bett is a twenty-six-year-old young African leader from Kenya. His project area is focused on mental health and disability advocacy, specifically for individuals who are visually impaired (blind). Through the Mandela Washington Fellowship, Elon hopes to gain valuable leadership skills that will enable him to establish a community-based organization. This organization will work towards finding permanent solutions to the issue of cattle rustling by promoting conflict resolution and providing equal opportunities for people living with disabilities.
Elon has more than six years of experience in youth and disability advocacy. As an expert in special needs education, he is dedicated to championing the inclusion of persons with disabilities in all aspects of life, ensuring they are recognized as productive and equal members of society. Currently, Elon serves as a rehabilitation officer at the Kenya Society for the Blind. In this role, he provides essential training in Braille literacy, orientation and mobility, and adaptive technologies. Additionally, Elon has volunteered as a special education teacher in various special and integrated schools.
Elon’s expertise has led him to participate as a panelist and delegate in both local and international conferences, where he addresses pertinent issues within the disability sector. He holds a diploma in Special Needs Education from Kenyatta University and is currently pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations at USIU-Africa in Nairobi, Kenya.
After completing the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, Elon aims to leverage his enhanced connections and networks to establish his status in the international community as a career diplomat. His ultimate goal is to contribute to the advancement of disability rights and inclusive policies on a global scale.