Everyone Struggles

You know, struggle is not always a word everyone is comfortable with, whether it's in life, your career, or anything really. But my mentor Mary always tells me, "Even I struggle with Ushahidi sometimes, and I know the codebase so well!" So the truth is, struggle doesn't discriminate - it doesn't matter if you're an expert or a beginner.

And you know what? Struggle is totally okay. The key thing that sets "strugglers" apart is whether you're willing to reach out and get help from others. In my case, I really struggled to understand what "accessibility" meant in the context of this project. I had a pretty surface-level definition, but it was used all throughout the contribution process, so I knew I needed to dig deeper.

What that looked like for me was doing a lot of research, but not just surface-level stuff. I really wanted to understand what accessibility meant in the specific context of the Ushahidi project I was working on. It was about taking the time to understand the true meaning and importance of accessibility, not just the buzzword.

Web Accessibility is all about making sure a product can be easily used and understood by people with a wide range of abilities and disabilities.

Where did I start?
Ooh, let me tell you where I started with this whole "accessibility" thing!. Accessibility is wide topic with alot of info that you need to know before any implemetation. As someone who had never really dealt with it before, I was like, "Woah, this is a huge topic!" 🤯

I was actually joking with my friend, who's also a contributor, saying "I wish the accessibility website had an audiobook or something - that would make learning all this so much easier!" Because let's be real, that website is no joke. It's packed with information, and it's the kind of thing that really takes time to fully wrap your head around, you know?

But you know what helped me a big time? Asking my fellow contributors who were more familiar with web accessibility. 👥 Learning from them was just so much quicker and more engaging than trying to slog through it all on my own. There were also a bunch of other websites I visited to try and understand it better, like

Web Accessibility Initiative

Acquia

Wikipedia

Even during my internship, those first few weeks were a real challenge when it came to accessibility! 😅 I had to ask my mentors Anna and Mary so many questions, especially when it came to the implementation side of things. I mean, that was a whole other beast to tackle, you know?

I remember having regular meetings with them to discuss my approach and get their guidance. They were so patient and helpful in walking me through the best ways to tackle the accessibility challenges. 👩‍💻 They really took the time to ensure I understood how to identify and solve those accessibility issues.

Having that dedicated one-on-one time with my mentors made such a difference. They broke things down for me step-by-step and gave me the confidence to tackle those implementation hurdles. 💪 I'm so grateful they were there to provide that extra support and mentorship, because navigating accessibility as a newcomer can be really intimidating.

But with their help, I was able to steadily improve my skills esp debbugging skills and start making real progress. Little by little, I got more comfortable spotting potential accessibility problems and finding the right solutions. It was definitely a learning curve, but having those experienced guides by my side made it so much more manageable. 😊

The key is, I wasn't afraid to reach out and get support. Accessibility may be a big, overwhelming topic, but with the right guidance and resources, I was able to start making sense of it. It's all about taking it step-by-step and not being too hard on yourself, you know? 😊 As Mary says "Little drops of water make a mighty ocean"

Find my Blogs Here
Know About Rose

Know Your Audience

Modifying Expectations