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TSHOLOTSHO District Administrator Nosizi Dube has called on society to embrace people with disabilities. She noted that whenever a child with a disability was born it tended to be the responsibility of the mother to raise them. Such societal prejudices, she said, were outdated.
She made the call at the opening ceremony of a Plan International sponsored induction workshop for Paralympic sport in Tsholotsho on Monday. The seminar, organised by the Sport and Recreation Commission Matabeleland North office in conjunction with the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture, was the first step towards setting up a committee to oversee and co-ordinate sporting activities for those with disabilities.
Dube said sport for people with disabilities was important and needed support. She bemoaned the fact that Matabeleland North has no centre where those with disabilities are housed and hence the difficulty when it comes to raising teams for the Zimbabwe National Paralympic Games.
“What you’re gathered for here is important. I remember when I was acting Provincial Administrator when we held the Paralympic Games, we had difficulties. Unlike other provinces which have places like King George, we don’t have such.
“Gone are the days when they (disabled children) used to be hidden in granaries and referred to as witchcraft tools. Women were made to suffer as they were often deserted by their men too after giving birth to such. Re-marrying after that is never easy. We all have some form of disability so we mustn’t look down upon others,” said Dube.
“There seems to be a thinking that men don’t father children with disabilities but it’s the women to blame. We’ve to eradicate that kind of thinking in our midst,” she added.
Dube said children with albinism were also victims of the society’s prejudices.
She challenged those attending the workshop, which ended yesterday, to go out and put what they learnt into practice and develop the community. She said her office will be available to assist where possible.
She also congratulated Tsholotsho FC for winning their opening Castle Lager Premiership match last Friday.
“We’re happy for Tsholotsho FC, you can imagine boys with a strong rural background beating nose brigades, that was good,” she said amid laughter from the participants.
Dennis Mafukidze, a Plan International representative challenged Tsholotsho District not to over depend on donors but devise ways to be self reliant.
“We will not always be there as Plan International. So you must come up with strategies that will help you survive on your own. We’re prepared to help you in projects that you start for yourselves,” said Mafukidze.
He said their vision as Plan International was to see children with disabilities realising their full potential in sport.
Access to sporting facilities for recreational and high performance levels was a right of every child or person with a disability, Mafukidze said.
SRC Matabeleland North manager, Newman Masuku told of a touching story where recently government officers rescued a child with albinism who had been closed out to society for almost 11 years.
“He was looking so pale and had been restricted to a room for that long where there was a tin for him to use when relieving himself and close by a container for his food. There was such a putrid smell in the room,” said Masuku.
Bongani Moyo
Online Reporter