100 participants expected as Disability Expo begins

Patrick Chitumba, Midlands Bureau Chief
THE ninth edition of the National Disability Expo started on a high note in Gweru yesterday with Special Advisor on National Disability Issues in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Cde Joshua Malinga calling for the end of misconceptions regarding People with Disabilities (PWDs).

More than 100 participants are expected to set up exhibition stands and a number of them were still working on their stands by yesterday.

The Expo will be officially opened by President Mnangagwa at Gweru Sports Club tomorrow.

Welcoming participants and Government officials who braved the cold weather to attend the Expo, Cde Malinga said there was a need for society to correct misconceptions regarding disability.

He said even culturally, there are still pregnant women who spit on the ground when they come across a disabled person and pray that they don’t give birth to a disabled child.

“Disability has a lot of misconceptions; it has a lot of fears and it has never been seen as a natural phenomenon by society. However, disability is not about how my legs look, it’s not that you don’t have eyes. Disability triggers a lot of fears and that is why in Shona they have a saying, ‘seka urema wafa’. You find a pregnant woman who comes across a disabled person spitting on the ground saying God I don’t want a disabled child. So, disability is a mindset, it’s in the mind,” said Cde Malinga.

He said some people think disabled people, like those who are blind, can’t be intimate and produce children.

“Someone once asked me how disabled people have children. In response, I told him that the fact that he can close curtains, lock the door and close eyes, the disabled people can also do it,” said Cde Malinga to laughter from participants.

He said there is a need for society to do away with barriers that affect disabled people from participating in community programmes.

“Disability is something I like to call a barrier created by society. For example, at this hall, there are steps which I can’t use. So, it has been created as a barrier to stop me from participating,” he said.

Cde Malinga said society should embrace disability as part of a diverse society, adding that people will never be the same.

He said PWDs continue to face a myriad of challenges ranging from stigma attached to disability to  difficulties in accessing means of survival.

“Disability is diversity, God created us differently, some are tall, some short, some handsome and some are ugly.

Why do you stop me from accessing a pair of crutches or having a wheelchair when you enjoy your legs? Everybody needs support to succeed in life.

“We have the same aspirations, the same ambitions to go to school, work, start a business, raise a family. We also want to see successful PWDs, who are successful farmers, who contribute to the growth of the economy. We are tired of this situation where poverty is associated with PWDs.

“We should celebrate the fact that we are different as human beings and we ought to accommodate each other in all facets of life and society. Zimbabwe is beautiful and we can’t have a second country for PWDs and therefore the need for us to work and live together in peace and harmony,” he said.

Cde Malinga said there is no democracy in a country that tramples on the rights of PWDs.

PWDs need access to community services, finance, buildings and everything which other people have access to.
“If there are poor people in society, the poorest will be the PWDs and that must come to an end,” said Cde Malinga.

He commended the Second Republic under President Mnangagwa for launching the National Disability Policy in June.

“Zimbabwe should be the first or is one of the few countries in Africa which have a Disability Policy. So, we commend President Mnangagwa and the Government for such strides aimed at alleviating problems in society since the National Disability Policy speaks to such issues like the need for universal designs and access,” said Cde Malinga.

Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Larry Mavima was delighted that his province is the first to host the expo after formulation of the Zimbabwe National Disability Policy.

“The implementation of the policy has conveniently coincided with the first phase of the country’s economic blueprint, the National Development Strategy 1. It is also taking place here after His Excellency has made the clarion call to mainstream disability in national development. Moreover, it is the first time since its inception that President Mnangagwa graces the National Disability Expo,” Minister Mavima said.

“The theme for this year is, ‘Disability mainstreaming and inclusion for a prosperous and empowered society which leaves no one behind’. It shows that Zimbabwe is an inclusive society in which everyone must actively participate in the fulfilment of the country’s Vision 2030 road map. This National Disability Expo must be an emancipation process for the realisation of equal opportunities for all,” he said.

Minister Mavima said the Expo must be a platform for retrospection, self-reliance, resilience building and should capacitate people living with disabilities to bounce back better in the face of adversity.

“Disability is not inability, hence persons with disabilities must be given equal opportunities to showcase their inherent potentials,” he said.

The expo’s key focus is enabling persons living with disabilities to gain awareness on existing technologies, equipment, aids, services and products.

Stakeholders and organisations representing PWDs are exhibiting different products, technologies, talents, crafts and other services.