Rogers Tumukunde, 30, grew up with a passion for traditional dance. Born with speech impairment, upon completion of his studies at HVP Gatagara in Huye district, Tumukunde, together with a number of classmates with hearing impairments, did not get an opportunity to join university or get a job. “We often face a lot of challenges while looking for a job, just because of our disability. Even those who get an opportunity to join the university also find difficulties as most of the people there are not familiar with sign language,”, he recalls. This, he explains, is why most people with speech impairment major in practical faculties like ICT, and Electricity. Needless to say, Tumukunde did Computer Science in high school. Over time, together with a group of nine other people, they came up with the idea of founding a traditional troupe in 2014. From ten members, the troupe dubbed Inyagamugayo, soon grew to 35 members, all dealing with hearing impairments. “We are all deaf, so to dance with the rhythm, we get the beat from the ground. You cannot hear, but you can hear the wave of the beat from the ground. That is how we get to dance,”, Tumukunde explained. He added that team members who have been part of the team since its inception have improved their livelihoods, as some currently own businesses, while others can afford basic necessities which prevent them from begging on the streets. They often perform at several parties like weddings, holidays, and special events, among many others. For events, they charge on average, Rwf300, 000. Artablities 4 All The troupe has been working with Artablities for All (A4A), an initiative that seeks to empower artists living with disabilities by providing them with a platform for their talents in an inclusive environment and also helps with networking opportunities. According to Dr. Ranjini Kaushik from the USA, one of the initiative’s co-founder, the team’s abilities are amazing despite their disability. “I was amazed by how, despite dealing with hearing impairments, these guys came up with the troupe and also employed others with hearing disabilities,”, she commented, citing that the organization and order in the team inspired her want to work with the group and other Rwandans. Ranjini Kaushik. Her counterpart from India, with whom she founded the initiative together with, Lakshmi Ravishankar said, we would like to take this forward by getting the artistes livelihood opportunities and provide mentoring for those who need it with professionals in their chosen art They added that they want to continue to grow the initiative and feature more artists from Rwanda and also do live events post-pandemic and provide the artists with a better livelihood and global opportunities. Challenges Explaining why they do not get regular jobs, Tumukunde noted that there are still some people with a mindset that disabled people cannot offer great performance. He urged all people to give chance to people living with disabilities because they are able.
