Exclusive: See How People Living With Disabilities Solved Problems in Novel Ways

  • People Living With Disabilities solved problems in the presence of leading tech leaders and disability inclusion advocates.
  • Team Afia won the competition with their pitch for an application that will ease access of people living with disabilities to connect with providers of basic social services. 

History was made in Ibadan, Oyo state when students of the University of Ibadan, gathered for the 2019 CampusLabs Disability Hackathon that seeks to address the challenges and needs of people with disabilities using technology solutions.

The five-day boot camp was facilitated by three Mandela Washington Fellows; Emeka Ossai (CEO, CampusLabs), Busola Majekodunmi and Tobiloba Ajayi, 26 participating students representing 7 teams pitched their ideas before a jury of leading tech leaders and disability inclusion advocates.

Campuslab is where a community of entrepreneurs on Nigerian campuses are built.

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The hackathon was on how technology can be used to enhance the lives of persons living with disabilities in order to improve their lives.

Some Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) at the occasion

The seven teams that participated in the event include Team Hive, Team Brave, Team Ace, Team Afia, Team Vibe, Team Elixir and Team Coderian.

After working closely with their mentors for three days, the seven teams produced their various prototypes.

The event was also an eye-opener for students who learnt to understand what it meant for persons living with disabilities on a daily basis as the 7 teams in the pitch competition came up with varying technological solutions after meeting with families and people living with disabilities to gain a better understanding of the challenges they face.

On the grand finale day, he public got to see the product of their hard work for the first time and they were amazed at the wonderful things that they had produced despite their disability, showing that there is ability in disability.

At the end of the contest, the teams with the best of ideas won. Team coderian emerged third, while the second place was won by Team Hive and the ultimate winner was team Afia with their pitch for an app that will ease access of people living with disabilities to connect with providers of basic social services. They got rewarded with a cash prize of N500, 000.

It also afforded the Persons living with disabilities to see what awaits them at a cheaper rate.

Speaking at the grand finale of the event, Officer Russell Brooks lauded the students for working collaboratively to improve accessibility and mobility for people living with disabilities.

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