Disabled assisted to get registration papers

NASCOH said this will enable the disabled to fully participate in national events such as elections and referendums as well as making sure that their children will be enrolled in schools. NASCOH Director Farai Magweva, said that the campaign began early this year and would only end when the organisation is satisfied that all people with disabilities have obtained the necessary documents.

According to NASCOH, children born by disabled parents often find difficult for them to attend school because they had no birth certificates.

“We would like to make sure that people who have disabilities get proper documents. We are currently in seven districts of the country where our member organisations are working closely with chiefs, headmen and councillors to identify our members who do not have national registration documents so that we will facilitate that they get them,” said Magweva.NASCOH estimated that 1.3 million people in the country were physically challenged and that the majority, especially women and children, did not have national identity papers.

NASCOH said because most disabled people ended up not going to school because of lack of identity papers. Women and girls were taken advantage of and were left with unwanted pregnancies because of lack of education and the absence of information on contraceptives. “Adverts on the radio do not include the deaf and those on television. Unless they are interpreted to them, they will not know,” said Magweva.

Magweva added that without national identity documents the disabled would remain largely excluded from national events. “We want our members to fully participate in national events such as the drafting of the new constitution. We are also fighting hard to make sure that the deaf and dumb are included in the new constitution.” NASCOH, through its member organisations, Zimbabwe Association of the Visually Impaired, Zimbabwe Parents of the Handicapped, Zimbabwe National Association of Mental Health and the National League of the of Blind, was presently in Bikita, Mutoko, Mutare Urban, Gwanda, Chivi, Masvingo Urban districts.