News / Local
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador calls for equal opportunities
08 Dec 2011 at 09:09hrs | Views
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, musician Prudence Mabhena last week made the call for equal opportunities for children with disabilities. Mabhena was speaking on the commemorations of the International Day of Persons with Disability that is celebrated on December 3 every year.
"Disabled children are discriminated against on the basis of ignorance, and culture. This discrimination results in their exclusion from society and prevents them from accessing basic social services. "We must do our best to ensure equal opportunities for all children, especially the most vulnerable children," she said.
Mabhena added: "I strongly support Zimbabwe's children petition to have a dedicated Bill of Rights for Children in the new Constitution and such a bill should prioritise children with disabilities. Ultimately, a society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable members". Born with arthrogryposis, a congenital disorder causing muscle weakness and limited movement, Mabhena has had to use a wheelchair all her life.
She has overcome both physical challenges and social exclusion to achieve global recognition as a musician and advocate. Her hardships and subsequent accomplishments were featured in the 2010 Oscar Academy Award winning documentary entitled Music By Prudence. As a child growing up in Victoria Falls, Mabhena experienced the rejection, abandonment and neglect that often characterises the lives of children living with disabilities in the country when she was abandoned by her parents who left her in the care of her grandmother.
According to research, data on the situation of children and adults with disabilities in Zimbabwe is not readily available, but according to the 2002 census, there are 349,000 people with disabilities living in Zimbabwe, with almost 25 percent under the age of 19 at the time of the census.
"Disabled children are discriminated against on the basis of ignorance, and culture. This discrimination results in their exclusion from society and prevents them from accessing basic social services. "We must do our best to ensure equal opportunities for all children, especially the most vulnerable children," she said.
She has overcome both physical challenges and social exclusion to achieve global recognition as a musician and advocate. Her hardships and subsequent accomplishments were featured in the 2010 Oscar Academy Award winning documentary entitled Music By Prudence. As a child growing up in Victoria Falls, Mabhena experienced the rejection, abandonment and neglect that often characterises the lives of children living with disabilities in the country when she was abandoned by her parents who left her in the care of her grandmother.
According to research, data on the situation of children and adults with disabilities in Zimbabwe is not readily available, but according to the 2002 census, there are 349,000 people with disabilities living in Zimbabwe, with almost 25 percent under the age of 19 at the time of the census.
Source - Metro
