Ritah Asiimwe(Uganda): Purpose & Para Badminton

Ritah lost her hand when machete and hammer-wielding thieves broke into her Grandma’s house in 2005. Today, Ritah is the African Para Badminton Champion and was one of only four Ugandan Paralympians who participated in the Tokyo Paralympics.

Today she opens up about losing her hand, and how she’s moved forward (including relearning how to write after becoming left-handed). Her north star? Making the best of every day. According to Ritah, “I never feel cheated because I saved so many livest.” And it was very important that her that who and how she acted didn’t change after the attack either. According to her close friend and classmate, Earn Madrine Nabiwemba “coming back to school with one arm, she was like, you people do not feel sorry for me. This is the same old Ritah and I’m going to do everything I’ve been doing before now with one arm. Don’t feel sorry for me. Treat me the way you’ve been treating me.”

Outside badminton, Ritah, like many others with disabilities, has faced employment discrimination. Ritah opens up about these employment struggles and celebrates some very exciting news! As Ritah says: “I am capable of doing anything and everything, just like any other person. That’s how I am, and that’s how I live.” She certainly is. At the end of Ritah’s episode, she asks that we all consider a donation to help her continue working towards her dream: Paris 2024.

She ‘s responsible for funding her own training, travel and competitions, so please consider donating to help Ritah get to the Paris Paralympics: https://bit.ly/RitahAsiimwe Contributing experts in order of appearance include Earn Madrine Nabiwemba (Logistician and Ritah’s Friend) and Coach Betty (Ritah’s Badminton Coach). Media clips from the following sources are used in this production: -Uganda Olympic Committee’s YouTube Page, “UGANDA Para-Badminton Player Ritah Asiimwe Ahead Of Her Matches At Paralympic Games” -Badminton Africa’s YouTube Page, “Know more about the African Champion and the Paralympian Ritah Asiimwe” -Schwartz Perry & Heller LLP’s YouTube Page, “What Exactly Is Disability Discrimination | Ask An Employment Lawyer”