history

Sara Minkara and a young girl participant of ETI’s programs are sitting and laughing while they embrace

Founded by advocate and social entrepreneur Sara Minkara, Empowerment Through Integration (ETI) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to developing a more inclusive society through both empowering youth with disabilities individually and transforming social and cultural stigmas against disability globally by focusing primarily and intensively on the capacity building and mindset transformation of local professionals and families.

A Lebanese-American Muslim woman who lost her sight at age seven, Sara personally witnessed and experienced, as a blind woman, the extreme ways that society can either marginalize and undervalue or empower and integrate people with disabilities. Living most of her life between two different countries, her home in Massachusetts and visits every summer to Lebanon, she experienced the impact of two very separate and contrasting realities that differ mostly regarding their respective mindsets and behaviors about disabilities and the availability of adequate services for people with disabilities (PWDs). In the USA, with her family members and access to specialized training offered by Orientation and Mobility (O&M) and Teachers for Visually Impaired (TVI) professionals , she developed the necessary knowledge and skills to develop self-confidence, self-determination, agency to live an independent and empowered life. Access to this type of training offered her the foundations to pursue her studies at Wellesley College and Harvard Kennedy School as well as equipped her with the skills to create her own non-profit organization, which aimed at providing empowerment and inclusion training for individuals with visual disabilities, families and members of the community at large in underserved communities in developing countries. . While in Lebanon, the absence of available specialized training for community members led by professionals who should be equipped and trained to not only serve but empower individuals with disabilities as valuable individuals in their community, made Sara understand the detrimental and long-lasting impact that the absence of these invaluable resources can have on individuals living in these underserved communities. Empowerment Through Integration is the response to this world-wide historical system of inequalities and misrepresentation and exclusion of blind individuals around the globe. With its promising and unique value-based approach, ETI started it’s own trajectory with the support from the Clinton Foundation, which allowed the organization to expand its programs and impact families in communities in Lebanon.

For more information about the origins of Empowerment Through Integration, check out the links below:

In this video, Sara Minkara, Founder & CEO of the non-profit organization (NGO) Empowerment Through Integration (ETI) talks about her life journey and how her experience as an empowered blind woman contributed to her decision to create ETI and implement programs to empower and include blind youth in the world.

“ETI advances our mission through groundbreaking programs that provide specialized knowledge while challenging stereotypes about people with disabilities, elevating marginalized voices and viewpoints, and promoting a robust and authentic respect for individual value. ETI’s programs support individuals of all identities and abilities to become catalysts for change in their own lives, their communities, and beyond.”

ETI began its work with a single summer camp with 39 children in Tripoli, Lebanon in 2009, and was established as a 501c3 nonprofit in 2011. Since ETI’s first programs in 2009, we have become a leading voice in the fields of disability, inclusion and empowerment and have developed a holistic approach, affecting change on individual, institutional, and global levels. ETI has provided specialized training to over 1,500 youth with disabilities, family members and the broader community over its 10-year history.

After 10-years of implementation of empowerment and inclusion programs, ETI has established itself as a leading voice and expert in the fields of disability and inclusion, recognized by prominent organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH, among others. As of 2021, ETI implements eLearning courses, as part of its program offerings, in Activities of Daily Living (ADL), Orientation and Mobility (O&M), and Inclusion Training to provide capacity building and mindset transformation training to local professionals and families and, ultimately, support the empowerment and integration of blind youth globally.

ETI is also committed to transforming the social stigma against disabilities more broadly via our public engagement and advocacy work, which have reached over 5,000 individuals since 2016 working with clients including United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Adobe, Lazard, Harvard University, AirBnB, U.S. Embassy in Rwanda, Montana State University, Northwestern University, Southern Illinois University, and the Boston Mayor’s Office.

PAST SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS

Please read about ETI’s public engagements here.

MEDIA APPEARANCES

Please read about ETI’s media appearances here.

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