adminThese fundamental requisites include basic education, provision of equal opportunities for employment and access to proper medication. The disabled community is one of the social sections that have been marginalised in our country because of limited Government assistance therefore, some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) realised this chasm left by the governing authorities and took it upon themselves to close it by offering assistance needed by the disabled. These organisations include Jairos Jiri Association, Red Cross, Zimcare Trust and Southern Africa Federation of Disabled People (Safod).
The emergence of more organisations targeting this disadvantaged section of the society brought hope but most beneficiaries tend to be in urban centres. It was also a great relief to Government. The journey that most NGOs and government agencies have travelled in mitigating the hurdles faced by disabled people is surely welcome. Some of these people — due to support from NGOs and Government institutions — have acquired education and managed to set up their own businesses. Others are still acquiring practical skills especially from the vocational training centres dotted around the country.
However, it seems a huge gap exists between the urban based disabled people and those in remote areas in terms of receiving assistance. In this regard, the saying “disability does not mean inability” may prove alien to most disabled persons in remote, rural areas. This is because much assistance directed to the disabled seems to be largely confined to urban areas. The Ministry of Health and Child Welfare introduced some rehabilitation programmes aimed at improving the quality of life for people with disabilities through empowering them with knowledge and necessary skills. These programmes also aimed at mainstreaming the disabled to the whole society. This was followed by the establishment of community-based rehabilitation (CBR) centres in almost all the districts in Zimbabwe.
Due to the marginalisation of the rural disabled, a number of people living with disabilities have migrated from their rural homes to urban centres. They apparently realised that in comparison with their urban counterparts, being a disabled individual living in urban areas was not as difficult as in a rural area. Significantly, more urban dwellers use assistive technology such as wheelchairs, crutches, standing frames and walking sticks than those in rural areas.
One of the reasons why aids for the disabled are available in urban areas is that NGOs dealing with people living with disabilities often find it cumbersome to reach those in remote areas in order to offer them assistance. As a result of this, most of the rural disabled have failed to get necessary assistance. It is indeed saddening to realise that up to date there are disabled persons who have failed to realise their potential in transforming their lives due to lack of adequate support from their family members and Government.
This, therefore calls for community-based rehabilitation centres in rural areas to go an extra mile in reaching out to even the remotest communities and identify disabled individuals who suffer negligence from their close relatives and community as a whole. Community-based rehabilitation programmes have to be more effective in rural areas than anywhere else in the country. In these areas, people do not consider it worthwhile or viable to invest in the future of their disabled children by educating them. Thus, these children and other youths are often neglected and left in vulnerable circumstances.
Apart from lacking physical aids like wheelchairs, crutches, standing frames and walking sticks to get them around, rural disabled face a lot more challenges in coping with the demands of rural life. There are a number of segregating practices in rural communities that exclude the disabled. For instance, in most remote areas due to effects of drought, most villagers now resort to “food for work” programmes to get food for their sustenance. In such programmes, the disabled individuals are not considered. Some end up depending wholly on the benevolence of their families and relatives.
This assistance is usually limited and leaves many facing the agonies of life alone.
Therefore, there is more that the governing authorities should do in helping the rural disabled. In conformity with the indigenisation policy, a crucial programme initiated by Zanu-PF, the Government has to embark on a more vigorous campaign aimed at also empowering the disabled people especially those in remote areas. The indigenisation policy does not exclude the disabled, which is plausible, but this campaign has to be monitored to ensure that it truly benefits the disabled.
It is time to bring to an end the tendency by the Government and NGOs of just offering food stuffs and other materials to the disabled because this has proved worthless in solving the root cause of problems they encounter on a daily basis. Gone are the days of offering temporary donations to these people. It is now time for empowerment.
Thus the starting point of this campaign has to empower the disabled with entrepreneurial skills so as to develop self-help projects that may help them improve their sustenance rather than wait for donations and contributions from well-wishers and philanthropists.
Vocational training facilities in rural areas, most which have been populated by able-bodied persons should identify individuals with disabilities in their respective areas and ensure that they are enrolled for courses that suit their disabilities.
These courses can be offered free of charge for the benefit of the disabled. They may include ventures in agriculture, horticulture, computer skills, IT and others. The respective stakeholders in this campaign should also assist these people in accessing loans from banks to start their own small to medium enterprises. This is because most financial institutions are reluctant to lend money to disabled persons because they view them as a high risk.
Besides empowering them with entrepreneurial skills, these training centres should also prepare the rural disabled for skilled trade and other professional careers that are dominated by able-bodied people.
Online Reporter