by Robin Sutherby

MIUSA Public Relations Intern

Do you have a disability? Have you always wanted to have an experience abroad, but never left home before? Maybe your academic goals are a top priority or perhaps you don’t have the time or financial resources to travel abroad right now. Well, fear not! There are a multitude of ways to "go international" without crossing borders. Here are just a few ideas to give you a taste of the opportunities available to you in your own backyard.

• Invite an international student to give a presentation on you campus, at your workplace, or in your church.
• Volunteer for an international organization in your community, such as Sister Cities or AFS.
• Participate in an exchange program in the United States, like Volunteers for Peace.
• Host an international student in your home.
• Stay in an international house on your campus
• Befriend an international visitor or immigrant and share your views.
• Create an international club on your campus or in your community.

I have always enjoyed visiting new places, but have often wondered if international travel would be part of my future. Living with a disability has always been an adventure, so I knew the possibility of going abroad would definitely pose a challenge, or at least that is what I thought until I learned about Mobility International USA (MIUSA). I discovered MIUSA in the summer of 2000, when I applied to be part of an international delegation to Costa Rica. Initially, I was disappointed at not being selected to participate, but later discovered this coincidence was nothing short of a "blessing in disguise." At that time, I was invited to apply for a similar program in Eugene, Oregon, called "Global Options for Women with Disabilities in Leadership and Employment." My participation in the Global Options program was an exercise in diversity, independence and personal growth which held more meaning for me than I could have ever imagined.

Growing up in the small town of Montesano, Washington I knew very few people with mobility impairments. I didn’t have the opportunity to interact with Deaf people on a regular basis and would be a freshman in high school before I made my first Deaf friend and began to more actively pursue learning sign language. Similarly, I had no blind friends, but I would soon discover that my involvement with MIUSA would change that.

This exchange brought together nearly thirty young women from all over Asia, Africa, Latin America, Europe and the United States for a two-week cross-cultural conference on disability. It afforded me the opportunity to experience other cultures and broaden my views without ever having set foot on foreign soil. Surrounded by women who shared my struggles I felt encouraged to test my personal limitations and embrace a more capable vision of myself as a young woman with a disability.

My days were spent attending leadership workshops and expressing my views on disability while my nights were spent acquiring new friends and gaining a better understanding of what it meant to live with a visual or hearing impairment. Born with mild Cerebral Palsy and affected by a learning disability that influences my visual-spatial orientation, I never imagined that independently guiding a new blind friend around a crowded market would be a reality for me, but I have since learned to never underestimate the strength of the human spirit or the power of determination.