Over the past six months, Yodit Tesfaye in Ethiopia and María Camila Figueroa Mendoza in Colombia have been advancing the rights of persons with psychosocial disabilities through national advocacy, peer leadership, and research on Deinstitutionalization through the TCI Fellowship Program, supported by the Disability Rights Fund (DRF).

🌍 Yodit Tesfaye, TCI’s National Advocacy and Outreach Fellow in Ethiopia, has been conducting peer-led CRPD learning, engaging national human rights and policy mechanisms, and supporting youth and women leadership and community inclusion initiatives.

📚 María Camila Figueroa Mendoza, TCI’s Research Fellow in Colombia, has been laying the foundations for TCI’s research on financing for deinstitutionalization, developing research methods, tools, and comparative case studies in 2 TCI member countries, Colombia and India.

Their work highlights how movement led advocacy, meaningful participation, and research can contribute to advancing rights and strengthening community inclusion.