For Disability Activists, 3 Weeks In Oregon Is A Game Changer

Until she came to the U.S. this summer, Wendy Beatriz Caishpal Jaco had never been able to board a bus.

Jaco, 29, uses a wheelchair, which buses aren't able to accommodate in her hometown of Ahuachapán in El Salvador. She finally got on a bus that could handle a wheelchair while attending a program called WILD — the Women's Institute on Leadership and Disability, held this summer in Eugene, Ore.

It's not that El Salvador ignores people with disabilities, she says. For nearly two decades, there has been a law designed to give people with disabilities equal access to jobs and transportation. "[The law] talks about adaptability, inclusion," says Jaco. "The problem is that there is no follow-up."

Jaco hopes that WILD will give her the tools and training to further her role as a champion of disabilityfrom around the world whoattended the three-week training program, organized by . This year's event, the ninth since its inception, ran from July 13 to August 3.