About Us


AN INTRODUCTION TO THE TRIPLE CRIPPLES

“TRIPLE CRIPPLES was created by two disabled Black Women, for Women, Femmes & Non-Binary POC, living with disabilities, each and every day, whose stories remain hidden from view.”

The dynamic duo, Kym Oliver & Jumoke Abdullahi, were frustrated with the lack of representation and unaddressed discrimination faced by Black and non-Black People of Colour living with disabilities. They joined forces and created a platform to increase visibility & highlight the narratives of this “invisible population, within an invisible population”!

With topical videos, spotlight interviews, workshops, talks & lectures on topics ranging from relationships to travel. The loveable duo has gained steady recognition for their insight & charisma. Featured on international platforms (BBC, AJ+, Vogue, Metro), and consulted for their invaluable perspectives in both academic & corporate circles (Oxford University, Cambridge University, Disability Leadership Institute, WOW). Black Disabled Culture cognoscenti, Kym & Jumoke, are relentless in their pursuit to transform the outcomes of those here and yet to come!

Kym & Jumoke are extremely passionate about eradicating the cultural taboos surrounding illness and disability within the Black community, not just in the UK, but in the global diaspora. The intersections of Race, Gender & Disability are key factors in determining how people experience the world around them. Yet so often, these axes of oppression are overlooked in Disability activism, Feminist agendas & Black liberation movements. The TRIPLE CRIPPLES are here to change the culture. They refuse to be ignored any longer and are dedicating their lives to being SEEN & screaming “WE ARE HERE!”.

JUMOKE ABDULLAHI

A Nigerian-British force of nature, Jumoke has a great passion for social justice, not least because, her life as a disabled Black woman, literally depends on it. She contracted polio before her first birthday, and does not know a life before it. Owing to the realities of poliomyelitis, and a potential future of post polio syndrome, Jumoke used this as a catalyst to set off and see the world.

A self confessed travel addict, she documents her travels through her travel blog Jayonlife and highlights the accessible and (usually) inaccessible aspects of her chosen destinations. She has found something to like about every place she has visited, but her favourite place was definitely Salvador da Bahia, Brasil. When not globetrotting, she is the ambassador for a charity called Star Children Initiative that works to enable and advocate for disabled youths and women in her home nation of Nigeria, as well as providing support for parents here in the UK.

Through the work that she does with Triple Cripples, Jumoke is an accomplished writer, speaker, expert lecturer, consultant and professional baby girl. She has a great passion for food and is happiest when her stomach is full. You are likely to find Jumoke in some random part of the world when she is not at home in London. In case anyone was interested, her favourite animal is the sloth.

KYM OLIVER

“…An unapologetically Black, African AND Caribbean, British, Disabled, Woman with a wheelchair-ish case of Multiple Sclerosis…”

Kym, is dedicated to illuminating her ‘lived experience’ with a long-term condition; examining its psychological, emotional, practical, social, cultural, structural and interpersonal effects.  She is a Writer (gal-dem), Speaker (WOW Festival, LSE), Expert Lecturer (University of Oxford, KCL), Sex & Dating aficionado (Inner Hoe Uprising, Long Island Institute of Sex Therapy), ‘Peer-reviewed Vegan Food Critic’, Professional Cackler and the ‘Official Goddess’ for the TRIPLE CRIPPLES (BBC, Metro) – a platform  dedicated to highlighting the narratives and increasing the visibility of People of Colour, living with Disability.  A deep lover of anime and a UX design student, Kym (allegedly) spends umpteen hours staring at a screen, talking to herself, like she has an audience. Ironically, she also happens to be a qualified Personal Trainer and Integrative Health Coach, who spends most of her days lying in bed, feeling poorly and promising herself that “tomorrow” will be the day that she eats better & goes to the gym… 

VEGAN OPTIONS as a basic requirement from all food vendors and is SICK AND TIRED of people EXPLOITING vegans by serving ‘pigs swill’ and labeling it ‘vegan’! She is a writer, a speaker, sex & dating aficionado, a self-appointed ‘professional vegan food critic’, a student of life, and a DELIGHT to be around. Ironically, she happens to be a qualified Personal Trainer and Integrative Health Coach, who spends most of her days lying in bed, feeling poorly and promising herself that “tomorrow” will be the day that she eats better and goes to the gym…

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