Clare Byrne

Starting a non-profit in a third world country has been the furthest thing from easy. Over the past eight years, I have experienced the highest of highs and lowest of lows living in Uganda. I have experienced the epitome of feeling insignificant, incapable, and inadequate.

So, why did I choose this path for myself?

When I first went to Uganda in 2013, I witnessed how mothers and fathers lived within a lie of shame and despair because they believed their child’s life was a curse and a burden. I experienced the courageous spirit of the Ugandan people who wanted to understand the name and cause of their child’s disability. I saw mothers and fathers endure immense stigma from their communities, due to having a child with a disability.

This reality was hard for me to “unsee” because I grew up alongside a sister with a disability. Although it’s a challenge for my sister to use words to express her desires, thoughts, and feelings, I’ve never known a human love deeper than hers. Her life has allowed me to peek inside the complex soul of a person with disability—and see how valuable, purposeful, and beautiful it truly is.

In 2016, I founded Imprint Hope, a non-profit organization to help build a world where children with disabilities are recognized for their inherent dignity and provided an opportunity to actualize their full potential.

Over the past eight years of living in Uganda, I have walked through so many seasons of profound joy, heartache, loneliness, and true freedom. I have been extremely humbled by the courage, perseverance and faithfulness of the Ugandan families we serve every day. Witnessing their heroic example, I have realized that truly you find your life when you give it away in service of others.