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Title: In the Wake of our Shadows
Authors: (Various) Edited by Audrey Charamba and Eresina Hwede
Published by Zimbabwe Women Writers
Year: 2009
ISBN: 978-0-7974-3928-3
This book review, speaking about women, is a ‘‘tribute’’ to Maya Angelou, a gallant and famous African American writer who actively fought for women’s rights. Angelou, an energetic poet, writer and activist, of the “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” fame, passed on last week.
How often do we hear public transport operators saying, “Vanonetsa avo”, referring to a disabled person who would have waved the kombi to stop for him/her? And the driver actually ignores this person only to stop a few metres away for ‘‘abled’’ persons waiting to go to town.
Loosely translated, the operators will be saying it is difficult to ferry disabled persons on public transport either because of their physical condition or they may not have enough bus fare.
This is but one of the sad scenes that expose how marginalised and ostracised disabled people are.
Their situation is sometimes as pathetic in the public as it is at home. Yet there is always one who is shouldering their plight, and it’s the WOMAN.
Zimbabwe Women Writers, an association of local women writers, deserves the big five for producing the book ‘‘In the Wake of our Shadows’’ five years ago that gives voice to women caring for children with disabilities. Though the book seeks to promote lives of these women, it also acts as an education tool for families and societies.
In this book twenty eight mothers and grandmothers narrate the difficult circumstances they face when raising a disabled child.
When a country faces a crisis, there are certain special groups of people that suffer most.
One wonders, for example, how parents with disabled children are coping in strife-stricken nations in Africa in particular.
Pitched in a period when the country was facing a severe drought and the economy was under-performing, the stories in ‘‘In the Wake of our Shadows’’ vividly paints a picture of what society takes for granted in matters of disability.
Each story is identified by the name of the narrator; in this case pseudonyms have been used but it is the sincerity and hope with which the stories are told that makes one understand the whole substance of disability issues.
Striking is how fast the young parents disappear from the scene after noticing the disability. 0
Others die AIDS-related deaths and leave the ‘‘burden of care’’ in the hands of their old parents.
The first four stories are told by grandmothers Sarudzai Butau, Grace Chimuti, Dorcas Masuku, Martha Gadzirai, who are struggling to fend for their disabled grandchildren with little or no help from the children’s parents.
In some cases, such as Rosemary Tangu’s story, one is inspired by the love and support she receives from her relatives who have accepted her daughter’s hydrocephalus condition.
Unlike Martha Gadzirai whose disabled grandchild’s (Ngoni’s) father vanishes and the mother re-marries, or Esther Dlamini whose careless husband dies of AIDS, Rosemary has all the support from her husband.
Although some conditions leave the child hopeless, there are cases when the disability could be enabled to work positively for the child.
For instance, Jennifer Ncube’s son Prosper, who suffers from a condition called ostrogenesis imperfector, is intelligent and does well at school, yet his bright future is threatened by poverty.
Stigma and provocative language, arising from relatives’ and the broader society’s lack of disability education or information contribute to the suffering of children with disabilities.
Hence, this book serves another purpose of providing basic information on how each one of us can play our part to handle disability.
The women tell their stories naturally. They begin with self-introduction and give a brief background of their family, then state their problem and circumstances around it.
Using important detail and examples, they speak to inspire hope rather than to complain. Supportive men are noted.
Although some of the women acknowledge government programmes, non-governmental and church aid in lessening the burden, each of the women in this book is willing to take up an income-generating project to wean them from dependency.
‘‘In the Wake of our Shadows’’ was produced as part of a project undertaken by ZWW to promote women who live with disabled children.
The women are the heroines society should reward with respect and honour above everything else.
Online Reporter