Lenard Marange, the director of the council, which works at grass roots level to improve the quality of life for disabled people, said in an interview that a lot of disabled people could not afford to buy or repair assistive devices.
“After realising that a lot of our members were failing to access safe devices, we decided to send a team of our technicians to Tanzania to train in making these devices. I am glad to say that the team has acquired the relevant skills and we are now making and repairing them at our workshop located near Mpilo Hospital,” said Marange. The items are distributed to deserving members at highly subsided prices.
He also said the organization was worried about the inaccessibility of toilets to its members in both public buildings and individual homes.
“Most disabled people cannot squat while they are relieving themselves. We have designed ideal sitting pans for disabled people so that they retain their privacy, dignity and independence,” he said.
But the programme is being hampered by lack of funds to acquire more material and hire more artisans. Marange said persons with disabilities continued to be the poorest because of the negative attitudes of society towards them.
“The environment for unlocking the potential of disabled persons is not conducive in this country. In most cases disabled people are viewed as objects who cannot do anything in life. This notion perpetuates the marginalisation of disabled persons,” he said. NCDPZ is also involved in civil rights education and runs awareness campaigns for disabled persons. The organization promotes self-reliance and independence projects for disabled persons such as irrigation schemes, sewing projects, vegetable gardening and soap making. NCDPZ has got more than 120 branches.
Post published in: News