The Forgotten Tribe
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Progressio Report The forgotten tribe People with disabilities in Zimbabwe Tsitsi Choruma Published January 2007 by Progressio Unit 3, Canonbury Yard 190a New North Road London N1 7BJ, UK www.progressio.org.uk Progressio is the working name of the Catholic Institute for International Relations (CIIR). CIIR is registered in the UK as a charity (number 294329) and a company (number 2002500). © Tsitsi Choruma 2006 ISBN 1 85287 323 X Tsitsi Choruma asserts her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work. This report was prepared by Progressio Zimbabwe in collaboration with NASCOH (the Zimbabwe National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped). Progressio gratefully acknowledges funding from Comic Relief for this report. Cover photo: Jon Spall/Progressio Design: Twenty-Five Educational About the author Dr Tsitsi R Choruma was appointed Progressio country representative for Zimbabwe in February 2006. Previously she was a Progressio development worker with The Centre and the Network for Positive Women in Zimbabwe. She is a former vice- president (research and programme development) of Global Education Services based in Seattle, Washington, and worked as a consultant on the production of the NGO Governance Manual for Zimbabwe. The forgotten tribe People with disabilities in Zimbabwe Tsitsi Choruma Contents Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................4 Introduction ....................................................................................................5 1 Background information on disabilities in Zimbabwe............................7 Defining disability ..............................................................................7 Prevalence of disability........................................................................7 Causes of disability ............................................................................7 The social, economic and political context ..........................................8 2 Survey responses: views and perspectives of people with disabilities in Zimbabwe ................................................................10 Legislation and policies ....................................................................10 Disability and poverty........................................................................12 Disability and gender ........................................................................13 Disability and health ........................................................................14 Disability and HIV and AIDS ..............................................................14 Disability and education....................................................................16 Disability and employment................................................................17 Disability, sport and recreation ..........................................................18 3 The impact of Progressio’s work in Zimbabwe on disability issues................................................................19 4 Lessons and policy recommendations....................................................21 Lessons ............................................................................................21 Policy recommendations ..................................................................22 Bibliography ..................................................................................................23 Acknowledgements _____________________________________________________________________________________________ Acknowledgements This publication reports on a survey conducted by Disabled people’s organisations and other Progressio Zimbabwe between September and November institutions with representatives who participated 2006. The survey followed the completion by Progressio in the survey Zimbabwe of two capacity building projects with Albino Association of Zimbabwe organisations working with people with disabilities, the Copota School for the Blind Zimbabwe Parents of Handicapped Children Association Council for the Blind (ZPHCA) and Jairos Jiri Association (JJA). Progressio Danhiko Project (formerly known as ICD – International Cooperation for Disabled Women Support Organisation Development – the operating name in Zimbabwe of the Dorothy Duncan Centre Catholic Institute for International Relations) supported Emerald Hill School for the Deaf the projects through the placement of development Epilepsy Support Foundation workers. The projects, the survey and this publication Henry Murray School for the Deaf were generously funded by Comic Relief. JJA The survey consisted of interviews with disability King George VI gurus, leaders of active disabled people’s organisations, Mudavanhu Zimcare Trust individuals and groups of people with disabilities. Multiple Sclerosis Society of Zimbabwe Participants in the survey were drawn from Greater National Association of Disabled Youths Harare, Gweru, Bulawayo and Masvingo. A number of RESCU institutions that predominantly work with people with St Francis Children’s Home disabilities assisted with the survey, including the Zimbabwe Association of the Visually Handicapped Midlands State University Disabilities Department, Zimbabwe Downs Children’s Association Zimcare Trust Masvingo, Jairos Jiri Naran Centre in Zimbabwe National Association of the Deaf Gweru, and Danhiko Training Centre in Harare. The ZPHCA individuals that administered the questionnaires and Zimcare Trust conducted the interviews were people with disabilities. Zimbabwe National Association for Mental Health To ensure the success of the activity, the survey was conducted in collaboration with NASCOH (the National Individuals who participated in the survey Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped – A total of 120 people with disabilities volunteered to the umbrella organisation for disabled people’s complete questionnaires. Sixty individuals with organisations in Zimbabwe). disabilities participated in focus group discussions. Progressio Zimbabwe acknowledges the participation of the following individuals and institutions in providing Project Planning Team information that made it possible to compile this Progressio: publication. Dr Tsitsi R Choruma Country Representative Cathrine Chirima-Jani Country Liaison Officer Persons with disabilities who made up the Sandra Lorraine Ngozo Programmes Intern interviewing team Lindarose Chinogurei- Kudzai Machingauta National Council of Disabled Zimondi Administrator Persons of Zimbabwe Otilia Panganai Zimbabwe National League of the NASCOH: Blind Farai Mukuta Executive Director Kudzai Shava Coordinator, Midlands University Lusine Mangwanda Senior Programme Officer Disability Resource Centre Michael Muza Zimbabwe National League of the Blind Tawanda Mlambo Zimbabwe Association of the Visually Handicapped A B Peggah JJA Zifa Moyo Council for the Blind Tracy Mabhiza ZPHCA Irene Banda ZPHCA Joules Daudi Girls High School E Piki JJA Lovemore Rambiyawo NASCOH 4 Progressio Report ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction Introduction For close to 10 years Progressio has been working with people. It is important that policy makers and disability service organisations in order to participate in development practitioners alike acknowledge that, with the global and national effort to improve the rights and roughly 10 per cent of the world’s population living with livelihoods of people with disabilities. Progressio partner some form of disability (WHO, 1996), disability organisations in Zimbabwe have included the Zimbabwe components must be built into all development projects. Parents of Handicapped Children Association (ZPHCA), Statistics on the extent of disability in Zimbabwe are Batsirai and Jairos Jiri Association (JJA). unreliable (see Section 1). However, it is common During this period the national development agenda knowledge that many people living with a disability were has shifted towards tackling HIV and AIDS. Many not born with a disability but became disabled through international and local non-governmental organisations accidents, other life threatening illnesses such as (NGOs) have turned their attention to the provision of diabetes, cancer, HIV and AIDS, meningitis, polio, or services in the HIV and AIDS sector, while the fast arthritis, or simply as a result of old age. This reinforces declining national economy also left the government the argument for programmes to be put in place to create with no option but to redirect funding where it was most awareness, to enable people with disabilities to become required. productive members of society, and to generally uphold While this shift was greatly needed, it left many other the rights of people with disabilities to good health, social ills unattended to. Among these, the disability education, and favourable living conditions. sector was greatly overlooked and it became almost non- In Zimbabwe, we still have a situation where a good existent. Evidence of this can be found in the lack of number of disabled children do not attend school. As information about disabilities in Zimbabwe, the outdated they get older they continue to be dependent on others, disability policies that are in place, the underfunded and thus becoming an economic drain on their communities largely invisible national body of people with disabilities, simply because they have been denied the opportunity to the