Maria Cecilia Agudelo, an MD from the Universidad de Antioquia, gave a speech about medical disabilities and inclusion to Grade 11 students a week before TOM 2023.

The conference was sponsored by the Monica Uribe Por Amor Foundation, an organization that supports people with a medical disorder called spina bifida, a condition that Agudelo was born with.

“We believe it is very important for 11th graders to learn from a person that went through university with all sorts of challenges and become aware of the life that that people with disabilities face right before the start of TOM,” Santiago Balladeres, Leader of Awareness for TOM 2023, said.

In her speech, Agudelo detailed the barriers to having a disability by talking about her life story and the challenges she faced from a young age.

“My goal with this lecture was to make high school students understand that anything in life is possible as long you are persistent, not only from a disability point of view but when taking decisions or facing a hard situation,” Agudelo said.

The speaker emphasized inclusion and equity for disabled people and asked students to see the potential in everybody no matter their physical condition. Agudelo told her story about working with patients in a remote area of the Department of Cordoba and explained how she managed to save lives despite her physical barriers.

“I believe that students should look at disabilities not from a physical aspect but rather see the potential in others through empathy and inclusion,” Agudelo said.

In addition to Agudelo’s speech, Sonia Uribe, Director of the Foundation, gave a presentation in which she introduced the organization. She focused on explaining spina bifida and showed how the foundation has helped hundreds of people over the last 20 years.

“At the foundation, we work towards independence and social inclusion. Our goal with this speech was to show that a person with certain challenges can accomplish their dreams, despite all the challenges that society may put them,” Uribe said.

The speech was given a few days before the start of TOM 2023 where students and experts provide individuals with disabilities with technological solutions to meet their needs.

“TOM is an incredible event in which our foundation has been greatly benefited. I love how people from many all sorts of fields come together to improve the quality of life for a person in need,” Uribe said.