H'SIEN HAYWARD: I think one of the most interesting parts of traveling abroad has been seeing the shift in other people's conceptualizations of disability and what it means to have one, what's possible if you do.
NARRATION: The National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange Presents….Passport to Possibilities
JUSTIN HARFORD: It seems like when you have a disability, at least in my case, having a disability for me was kind of like my passport into getting into local social circles.
HABEN GIRMA: it's really beautiful to meet with people with disabilities from other countries and see what they do great and maybe what's not so great. Every time I travel, I try to bring back a bit of wisdom.
NARRATION: Justin Harford, who is blind, studied abroad in Chile.
JUSTIN HARFORD: I think I was also worried about how people would react to me as somebody who was blind…But I just thought that this was really something I needed to do. It was something really important to me.
NARRATION: H’sien Hayward is a wheelchair user and has participated in volunteer programs all over the world.
H'SIEN HAYWARD: After my accident I did have a lot of questions, because travel had always been important to me. I always knew that I enjoyed it, that I wanted to — see the world. Having my accident was just one more challenge to figure out and I see every new country in that same light as just one more challenge to figure out.
NARRATION: InocencioZandamela is a Deaf Fulbright student from Mozambique. He is studying in Albany, New York.
INOCENCIO ZANDAMELA’S INTERPRETER: I applied for several colleges and was told by all of them, we don't have services to provide for you. So therefore, I had to look outside my country to — to further my education.
H'SIEN HAYWARD: My biggest concern was physical access. Being a wheelchair user — it's paramount to whether or not I'll enjoy being in a place, whether or not I'll be able to stay somewhere.
NARRATION: HabenGirma has participated in international exchange programs in Costa Rica, Mali, China and many other countries.
HABEN GIRMA: My disability is deaf blindness.
I've traveled a lot and for each trip it's been a process to figure out how do I get my access needs met?
NARRATION: Did you know there’s a place to get your questions answered? Find out how to prepare for disability access and services abroad.
JUSTIN HARFORD: I remember standing in the line at the customs and asking people in my bad Spanish how I would get a taxi, and I just remember this one guy saying, "You just go to the counter and buy your ticket. Don't worry." [LAUGH] And everything was pretty smooth from there.
INOCENCIO ZANDAMELA’S INTERPRETER: I first arrived here in the month of November and it was quite an adjustment. I missed my family. They were so far away. While I've been in school here in the United States, I've had interpreters and full access in my classes.
NARRATION: Judith E. Heumann is the Special Advisor for International Disability Rights for the U.S. Department of State.
JUDY HEUMANN: I would certainly say that the United States is one of the biggest leaders in this area and that the Americans withDisabilities Act is really the gold standard for around the world.
JUDY HEUMANN: I think the State Department like other US agencies really are — recognizing the importance of being truly inclusive and that means the inclusion of disabled people also.
JUSTIN HARFORD: When I studied abroad, I learned that I could definitely do a lot of things that I never thought I would really enjoy. I always wondered how in the world I would do sightseeing as a blind person. But I learned that there's lots of different ways of sightseeing. And if you keep an open mind, you can have a really great adventure.
H'SIEN HAYWARD: In many of the countries that I've gone to, I've been told that I'm the only one in a wheelchair they've ever seen who is happy. I think that the visibility of people with disabilities has been the greatest benefit to the local communities that I've visited.
INOCENCIO ZANDAMELA’S INTERPRETER: I thought if I come to the United States, I will be able to get more training and I will take that knowledge back to my country and improve the education of deaf people there.
NARRATION: Learn from the experiences of international exchange travelers with disabilities.
HABEN GIRMA: It's okay to need additional assistance. It's okay to need accommodations.
My message to somebody who's thinking about going abroad is to go for it. Go abroad. Go learn. Disability experiences are just as real and just as valuable.
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The National Clearinghouse on Disability and Exchange is sponsored by The Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the U.S. Department of State.