Londile Moyo
Sukulwenkosi Dube-Matutu [email protected]
A MATABELELAND South-based disability organisation, Nkomwa Foundation Trust, in partnership with World Vision, is conducting a four-day disability awareness and basic sign language training programme targeting Government ministries and departments.
The training, which started on Tuesday, will run until Friday and seeks to equip frontline Government officials with practical knowledge and skills necessary to improve access to public services for persons with disabilities. The initiative is expected to strengthen inclusive governance in Gwanda District.
About 35 frontline staff members and officers from various Government departments and agencies in the district are participating in the programme.
Participants are receiving disability awareness orientation and introductory sign language training designed to help them better communicate with and serve members of the deaf community and other persons with disabilities.
Topics covered during the training include defining disability, types of disabilities, barriers faced by persons with disabilities, and the country’s disability legal framework. The programme also includes basic sign language training.
Under the sign language component, participants are being equipped with skills on salutations, the alphabet, colours and cities, animals and family, body parts, health signs, law signs, as well as sign language barriers and parameters.
The training comes at a time when Zimbabwe is advancing disability inclusion following the enactment of the Persons with Disabilities Act in November 2025, which replaced the 1992 Disabled Persons Act.
The new law adopts a human rights-based approach to disability and aligns with the Constitution of Zimbabwe, particularly Sections 22 and 83, recognising persons with disabilities as rights holders and broadening the national definition of disability.
@DubeMatutu
Online Reporter