The Deaf Bulletin 2014 Issue 7
Disability Expo: Empowering Persons with Disabilities through an Inclusive ZIM-ASSET.
Just a few years ago, few people in Zimbabwe were aware of the challenges facing people with disabilities and their families. Fearful of social stigma, many parents of disabled children for example avoided sending them to school for fear they would be mistreated and stigmatised. However, through increased education and awareness some of these attitudes have changed though more can be done. There is a realisation that people with disability can achieve more if their needs are met.
Zimbabwe held a disability expo which started on the 27-1st of august 2014. The expo was hosted by the office of the National advisor on Disability in the Office of the President. The ceremony was attended by a several government officials who included the National Advisor on Disability Issues in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Retired Brigadier General Dr Felix Muchemwa, Mayor of Harare Bernard Manyenyeni as well as different organisations representing people living with disabilities.
This second edition of the National expo ran under the theme. “Empowering persons with disabilities through an inclusive Zimbabwe Agenda for Sustainable Socio-Economic Transformation”. The National Disability Expo seeks to exhibit what persons with disabilities are capable of achieving if empowered with the right skills, tools and policies that enable them to excel in their desired ventures.
The success of the expo was significant because it signalled the second time disability is making it onto the public sphere breaking down the walls that had for long kept those living with disabilities in silence.
The Special Disability Advisor in the Office of the President and Cabinet Retired Brigadier General Felix Muchemwa outlined the importance that the expo. He noted that “Just a few years ago, we did not have so many people coming together to talk about disabilities,” he said. “Now, we are more confident in supporting people with disabilities … our commitment to caring for them must never stop.”
Other topics covered in this bulletin are:
- Disability Expo.
- Education as an em-powering tool for people with disability:
- International Week of the Deaf 2014.
- Information about Ebola.