Youth Ready: Fostering inclusive opportunities for youth with disabilities
Youth Ready empowers youth, including those with disabilities, to overcome barriers to education, employment and entrepreneurship and become agents of change in their own lives and in their families and communities.
Written by Adeyinka Onabolu
on December 3, 2025
Andrea, 19, lives in Bolivia. After completing high school, she planned to go to university, but Andrea has a hearing impairment. This shouldn’t pose a challenge to her education. However, she didn’t have the financial resources to access a university that could support her needs.
Although she felt discouraged, Andrea never lost her desire to succeed. She kept looking for opportunities to learn. Andrea's curiosity and perseverance led her to World Vision's Youth Ready program.
With Youth Ready curriculum modules¹ as well as mentoring, linkages to business and employment opportunities, and financial support for youth-defined livelihood pathways, Andrea discovered that limitations aren’t defined by disability, but by fear. She learned to trust herself and discover her strengths. She developed the belief that she could forge her own path.
Andrea decided to pursue her greatest passion: baking, a talent inherited from her mother. Over time, it has become her driving force. Andrea now runs a thriving pastry business.
“At first, I was afraid to show my desserts,” says Andrea. “But with the support of the program and my mother, I gained confidence.”
Andrea’s small pastry business, Dulce Amor (Sweet Love in English) won a mentorship prize and visibility materials for her business from the Maya Foundation .
Andrea receives recognition from the National Director of World Vision Bolivia for her entrepreneurial endeavors. The Maya Foundation also awarded her a mentorship prize and materials for her business. (Photo credit: World Vision Bolivia)
Disability should not be a disadvantage
On International Day of Persons with Disabilities, it is important to highlight the stories of youths with disabilities (YWD), like Andrea, who continue to overcome barriers to accessing education, employment and entrepreneurship opportunities.
Estimates suggest that there are between 180 and 220 million youth with disabilities worldwide, and nearly 80 per cent live in developing countries. Youth with disabilities face dual disadvantages: individuals with disabilities are more likely to live in poverty, even in developed countries.
In 2021, youth with disabilities were almost twice as likely to be NEET (not in employment, education or training) than youth without disabilities. The Latin America Disability Survey showed that 72.9 per cent of people with disabilities were unemployed at the time of the survey, while 48 per cent identified disability as the most mentioned barrier in accessing opportunities
The Youth Ready approach
Since 2017, World Vision Canada has been working with vulnerable and marginalized youth in ten countries across Latin America and East Africa through the Youth Ready program, funded by The Barrett Family Foundation and additional Canadian donors. The Program empowers youths to access education and employment, develop their own business ideas and serve as positive agents of change in their own lives, communities and countries.
Youth Ready did not start out working with YWDs specifically, but as it continued to enroll the most vulnerable youths, more YWD joined. Now, Youth Ready supports youths with intellectual disabilities, visual impairments, psychosocial or mental disabilities, hearing impairments, and physical or motor disabilities.
Andrea (right) and a fellow Youth Ready participant, explain their personal development . (Photo credit: World Vision Bolivia)
Doing our best for youth with disabilities
When buildings are inaccessible, teaching methods aren’t inclusive, learning materials aren’t adapted, and teachers aren’t trained to support youth with disabilities, it’s challenging for them to participate in learning. This can cause them to drop out or not do well in school, making it tough to move on to jobs or start a business because they may not have the right skills, knowledge or connections.
Youth Ready staff have worked hard to understand the needs of enrolled YWDs. They have reviewed the curriculum and made changes to the methodology and delivery of learning, engaged sign language instructors, and provided accessible learning materials to ensure YWDs can participate equally.
Through Youth Ready, YWD have received specialized technical training in areas such as baking, carpentry and office administration to strengthen their skills and the ability to promote their businesses. Participants also taught sign language to teachers and peers, which led to the adoption of inclusive strategies in classrooms.
Through Youth Ready, YWD have received specialized technical training in areas such as baking, carpentry and office administration. (Photo credit: World Vision Honduras)
Engaging and empowering caregivers
Negative cultural attitudes and stigma toward disability persist in many communities, leading to discrimination and exclusion for YWDs. This is steeped in cultural, religious and other beliefs about who a person with disability is and what they can accomplish.
Youth Ready is raising awareness among communities and caregivers to debunk myths about the capacity of YWDs. It also provides an opportunity for parents to attend sessions with their children. With support from Youth Ready and their parents,10 YWD will start university in 2026.
Addressing systemic barriers by forming strategic partnerships
YWDs are often excluded from systems that provide educational, business and employment services. To ensure the inclusion of YWDs, Youth Ready is establishing partnerships with educational institutions, government agencies, businesses, and private organizations to create opportunities for young people with disabilities.
It is also engaging with Organizations of Persons with Disabilities (OPDs), as they are a critical support for YWDs. With the support of the program across implementing countries, some YWD obtained seed capital, allowing them to transform their ideas into successful projects, which represents a crucial change from the initial lack of opportunities.
Youth Ready not only promotes entrepreneurship but also empowers young people, including YWD, to design their own life plans, contribute to their families’ well-being and become agents of change in their communities. (Photo credit: World Vi
Fostering disability-inclusive societies is possible
The theme for this year's International Day of Persons with Disabilities, "Fostering disability-inclusive societies for advancing social progress,” acknowledges that a lot more work needs to be done in every segment of society to ensure societies are inclusive for all persons with disabilities.
The work of the Youth Ready program has demonstrated that fostering disability-inclusive societies is indeed possible with intentional, flexible and adaptive programming as well as engagement with critical stakeholders. The end result is that YWD can access educational, employment and entrepreneurial opportunities equally and achieve long-term well-being.