I've now seen Regan Brashear's wonderfully thought-provoking documentary, Fixed: The Science/Fiction of Human Enhancement, twice, most recently, last night at the DREDF co-sponsored screening here at the Ed Roberts Campus. To my surprise, I'm accepting that I may well be "transhuman" or "The Six Million Dollar Co-Payment."
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The Center for Independent Living – Kathmandu Gang
Independent living in Kathmandu is challenging — like I mentioned, there is no accessible transit, there are very few sidewalks and no curb cuts, and the streets are not safe (traffic is chaotic). There is very little accessible housing, and before CIL, no personal assistance services. Additionally, all assistive devices, until very recently, came from outside the country and were difficult to get. (Whirlwind Wheelchairs — they're interested in talking to you.) ...
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The Kushadevi VDC Disabled Women Self Help Group
Rakshya and Nirmala told me to expect to meet 20 women who were interested in joining one of the new Self Help Groups for women with disabilities (including Dalit women with disabilities) that are the focus of our joint project. We were greeted by 48 women! Some women had disabilities, some were parents and others were friends, family members or local activists. Many had walked or ridden a minibus for up to two hours to attend. Attendance was evidence of FEDO and NDWA's strong outreach and networking throughout Nepal.
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Networked in Nepal: Feminist Dalit Organization Connects
In 1994, feminist, poet and journalist Robin Morgan who was serving as the global editor for Ms Magazine spent three weeks in Nepal consulting on women's rights and Durga Sob, a Dalit woman who was thinking about oppression, gender, and caste had an opportunity to hear her speak and talk with her. That encounter stimulated the founding of FEDO.
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The Power of Partnering
It IS a small world. The woman sitting at the table next to me this morning in the hotel here in Kathmandu was from Concord, CA (not far from Berkeley). Photos of wheelchair basketball players in today's edition of The Himalayan Times: — at Hotel Himalaya.
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