George Basil Okudi, DSi's Self-advocate Fellow, recently visited Tanzania to support the advocacy work of DSi's member there. George is from Uganda and is supporting DSi's human rights work in Africa.

George supported DSi's member Pearl of People with Down Syndrome Foundation (PPDSF) to lobby Tanzanian government officials. George travelled to Dar es Salaam and Dodoma, and met with officials from departments including: the Prime Minister's Office for Persons with Disabilities; the Department of Social Welfare; the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; and the Ministry of Health.

In the meetings George raised awareness about Down syndrome, his life included in the community and human rights issues. He supported (PPDSF) to lobby for increased government policy and programmatic support for people with Down syndrome.

George supported Samwel Mwanyika, a young self-advocate with Down syndrome from Tanzania' to join in with the meetings. He shared some of his experience as a self-advocate and gave Samwel some advice for his self-advocacy.

One major outcome of George's visit to Tanzania was that the Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Faustine Ndugulile, directed the National Institute of Medical Research to conduct a country-wide survey on the situations of people with Down syndrome in Tanzania.