Disability expo kicks off on a high note
By Letwin Mazarura
National Disability Expo has started on a high note in Gweru with authorities calling for the end of misconceptions regarding People with Disabilities (PWDs).
More than 100 participants are expected to set up exhibition stands and a number of them were still working on their stands.
The Expo will be officially opened by President Mnangagwa at Gweru Sports Club.
Special Advisor on National Disability Issues in the Office of the President and Cabinet, Joshua Malinga, said there was a need for society to correct misconceptions regarding disability.
He said culturally, there are still pregnant women who spit on the ground when they come across a disabled person and pray that they don’t give birth to a disabled child.
“Disability has a lot of misconceptions; it has a lot of fears and it has never been seen as a natural phenomenon by society. However, disability is not about how my legs look, it’s not that you don’t have eyes. Disability triggers a lot of fears and that is why in Shona they have a saying, ‘seka urema wafa’. You find a pregnant woman who comes across a disabled person spitting on the ground saying God I don’t want a disabled child. So, disability is a mindset, it’s in the mind,” said Malinga.
He also commented on the issue of disabled people being able to engage in social and intimate activities as well as raising children of their own.
“Someone once asked me how disabled people have children. In response, I told him that the fact that he can close curtains, lock the door and close eyes, the disabled people can also do it,” said Malinga humorously
He also said the community needs to remove barriers affecting the disabled in participating in community engagements and activities.
“Disability is something I like to call a barrier created by society. For example, at this hall, there are steps which I can’t use. So, it has been created as a barrier to stop me from participating,” he said.
Malinga commented that as there are people with disability, that means people are different and society should embrace that.
He said disabled people continue to face a lot of challenges ranging from stigma attached to disability to difficulties in accessing means of livelihood.
“Disability is diversity, God created us differently, some are tall, some short, some handsome and some are ugly.
Why do you stop me from accessing a pair of crutches or having a wheelchair when you enjoy your legs? Everybody needs support to succeed in life.”
“We have the same aspirations, the same ambitions to go to school, work, start a business, raise a family. We also want to see successful PWDs, who are successful farmers, who contribute to the growth of the economy. We are tired of this situation where poverty is associated with PWDs.
We should celebrate the fact that we are different as human beings and we ought to accommodate each other in all facets of life and society. Zimbabwe is beautiful and we can’t have a second country for PWDs and therefore the need for us to work and live together in peace and harmony,” he said.
He also said that a country where there are no rights for the disabled, there is no democracy.
The disabled need access to community services, finance, buildings and everything which able bodied people have access to.
“If there are poor people in society, the poorest will be the PWDs and that must come to an end,” said Cde Malinga.
Midlands Provincial Affairs and Devolution Minister Larry Mavima was delighted that his province is the first to host the expo after formulation of the Zimbabwe National Disability Policy.
“The implementation of the policy has conveniently coincided with the first phase of the country’s economic blueprint, the National Development Strategy 1. It is also taking place here after His Excellency has made the clarion call to mainstream disability in national development. Moreover, it is the first time since its inception that President Mnangagwa graces the National Disability Expo,” Minister Mavima said.
“The theme for this year is, ‘Disability mainstreaming and inclusion for a prosperous and empowered society which leaves no one behind’. It shows that Zimbabwe is an inclusive society in which everyone must actively participate in the fulfilment of the country’s Vision 2030 road map. This National Disability Expo must be an emancipation process for the realisation of equal opportunities for all,” he said.
Minister Mavima said the Expo must be a platform for retrospection, self-reliance, resilience building and should capacitate people living with disabilities to bounce back better in the face of adversity.
“Disability is not inability, hence persons with disabilities must be given equal opportunities to showcase their inherent potentials,” he said.
The expo’s key focus is enabling persons living with disabilities to gain awareness on existing technologies, equipment, aids, services and products.
Stakeholders and organisations representing PWDs are exhibiting different products and technologies.
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