About me
Born blind in Uganda. Determined that disability should never decide who gets a chance.
Also known as Bart Nsubuga and Bartholomew Diaz Nsubuga (Nsubuga Bartholomew Diaz).
I have never seen a classroom, a ballot paper or a computer screen. I have still learned in classrooms, stood for Parliament and built my working life around computers.
My name is Batulumayo Nsubuga, though most people call me Bart. This is my story so far.
A school for the blind, then King's College Buddo
I was born in Uganda on 23 April 1992, and I have been totally blind since birth.
My education began in 1995 at St. Francis School for the Blind. From there I went to Kampala International School Uganda for my primary years.
Then came King's College Buddo, where I completed both my O-level and A-level certificates by 2011.
Makerere: finding the language of rights
In 2016 I graduated from Makerere University with a Bachelor of Arts in Ethics and Human Rights, with a Second Class Upper.
It gave me the language and the tools of human rights. I have used them in every role since.
Six years at the heart of Uganda's disability movement
In 2014 I joined the National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU), the national umbrella for 17 Disabled People's Organisations.
As a Program Officer until 2020, I worked in both the economic empowerment programme and the human rights department. I coordinated national campaigns, worked hand in hand with district disability organisations, ran training workshops, and represented NUDIPU at national and international policy forums.
98% of the young people trained in Connecting the Dots were earning an income after the project, up from 41% before it.
The numbers from those years still make me proud:
- 325 young people with disabilities trained in vocational skills in four rural districts (Connecting the Dots, 2014–2016).
- 796 young persons with disabilities trained in advocacy and leadership across the country (Empowerment of Youth with Disabilities, 2016–2019).
- More than 790 young people with disabilities given vocational skills, business training and financial literacy. 30–37% moved into work, and 95% joined savings groups (Economic Empowerment and Improving Livelihoods, 2016–2020).
Alongside NUDIPU, from 2016 to 2020, I worked with various NGOs as a community organiser and advisor, supporting rural disability groups through civic education and awareness campaigns.
Research and policy at Uganda Speaks
Since March 2017 I have also been Research Policy Officer at Uganda Speaks in Kampala, a multipurpose organisation that mainly prides itself in its internationally recognised qualitative research works, mainly in the field of human rights and social being.
My work there is qualitative research and policy work on human rights. From 2017 to 2020 I did it alongside my role at NUDIPU, and I have carried it on remotely since moving abroad.
See my full experience, including the NUDIPU projects.
Standing for Parliament
In 2021 I stood as a parliamentary candidate in Uganda's national elections.
I used the campaign to speak up for disability rights, leading media outreach and public campaigns.
A phone, a laptop and a screen reader for every blind child
I founded the Blind Children's Education Support Campaign, and today I am its Director, alongside my studies.
Every blind child in Uganda should grow up able to use a phone and a computer with screen-reading software, and ideally own their own.
Screen-reading software is how I study, write and work every day. So I find used phones and laptops and send them to disadvantaged blind children in Uganda who otherwise would not have the chance.
When fire struck the girls' dormitory at Salama School for the Blind in Mukono in October 2022, the Campaign raised more than €13,000, which provided basic needs for the children in that difficult time.
A new chapter in Sweden
Since 2023 I have lived in Stockholm, and I am learning Swedish through Swedish for Immigrants (SFI).
I also informally advise refugees from Ukraine and other countries on how the Swedish social welfare system works and how to get help. I pay special attention to people who cannot read or write, because they are often the ones left without trustworthy information.
Researching reconciliation in Rwanda
I am now in the thesis year of my M.A. in Human Rights and Democracy at University College Stockholm.
My thesis is titled The Long-Term Legacy of the Gacaca Community Courts on Reconciliation in Post-Genocide Rwanda. From January to March 2027 I will be in Kigali for fieldwork with Never Again Rwanda.
How I work
I work every day with the JAWS and NVDA screen readers and Microsoft Office.
I am a confident public speaker, and I love bringing people together, from rural disability groups to national and international policy forums, around practical change.
If you work on disability inclusion, human rights, refugee support or transitional justice, I would be glad to hear from you.