YOU ARE NOT ALONE.
Faces Beyond Disability. Stories of Resilience, Health and Hope

Fondazione Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital presents the photographic exhibition You Are Not Alone. Faces Beyond Disability. Stories of Resilience, Health and Hope, on view at Fondazione Luigi Rovati in Milan from 7 to 16 May 2026.

 

Curated by Fondazione Ambrosoli, the exhibition is based on a reportage by photographer Marco Mignani in Kalongo, in the Agago district of northern Uganda, where the Foundation operates through the Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital, the district’s only general hospital and a key healthcare provider for approximately 500,000 people.

 

The exhibition features 29 colour photographs which, through portraits and testimonies collected in the field, tell the stories of men, women and children living with different forms of disability. The images offer a direct insight into the living conditions of local communities and the challenges related to accessing healthcare in contexts marked by poverty and geographical isolation. Each photograph proposes a perspective on disability in low-income settings, moving beyond stereotypical narratives and encouraging reflection on the relationship between health, social conditions and human dignity.

 

The exhibition is part of the three-year project “You Are Not Alone”, launched in 2022 by Fondazione Ambrosoli, funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) and carried out in collaboration with CBM Italia. The initiative aims to improve prevention, early diagnosis and treatment of visual, motor and mental disabilities, while strengthening healthcare services and support for the most vulnerable populations.

 

The project has been implemented in the rural district of Agago, home to the village of Kalongo, in the Acholi region, an area marked by deep social and economic fragility. Here, more than one third of the population survives on less than one dollar a day, and the risk of extreme poverty is widespread. In this context, disabilities are often neglected and stigmatized: in the Agago district, 22.4% of the population lives with a disability, a figure higher than the national average of 18.7%.

 

These are mainly psychosocial, intellectual, motor and visual disabilities. Access to services and assistive devices is extremely limited: only 2% of people with visual impairments use glasses, and just 9% of children who need mobility aids have access to them.

 

Disability is often subject to social stigma, resulting in families facing isolation, limited access to support services and significant economic hardship. Nearly a quarter of young people with disabilities aged between 6 and 24 have dropped out of school, and 11% have never attended. Prior to the project, the Agago district lacked specialized ophthalmological, psychiatric and rehabilitation services, which are essential to prevent or treat conditions that, without timely care, can become permanent. The area also records one of the highest attempted suicide rates in the country, exacerbated by the shortage of specialized psychiatric personnel.

 

Thanks to the “You Are Not Alone” project, the Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital in Kalongo has been able to expand and strengthen its services, contributing to improving the quality of life of the most vulnerable population in the Agago district. The intervention aimed to reinforce healthcare services while promoting the social inclusion of people with disabilities.

 

Overall, the project has reached over 40,000 beneficiaries.

 

Key interventions include the establishment of a sub-intensive care unit to reduce the risk of severe permanent disabilities; the creation of an eye clinic, which also provides access to ophthalmic surgery in collaboration with partner CBM Italia; and the establishment of a diabetes clinic to prevent visual complications. Mental health has been integrated into the hospital’s primary healthcare services through suicide prevention programmes, staff training and counseling. These interventions have contributed to a significant reduction in suicide-related deaths in the Agago district, with a 50% decrease recorded.

 

Orthopaedic services have also been strengthened, including surgical and rehabilitation activities, mainly for children, alongside the purchase of neonatal resuscitation equipment and the consolidation of local expertise. At the same time, awareness campaigns have been promoted within communities to combat stigma and increase understanding of the importance of early diagnosis and treatment.

Fondazione Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital

Fondazione Dr. Ambrosoli Memorial Hospital was established in 1998 by the Comboni Missionaries and the family of Blessed Father Giuseppe Ambrosoli, a surgeon and Comboni missionary who founded the hospital and dedicated his life to caring for the Ugandan population.

The Foundation was created to ensure continuity and a future for the Kalongo Hospital and the St. Mary Midwifery School, founded in 1957 and 1959 respectively. Its mission is to preserve the memory and medical and missionary work of Father Giuseppe Ambrosoli, while ensuring access to healthcare services for the most vulnerable segments of the population.

www.fondazioneambrosoli.it