Opinion / Columnist
Zimbabwe's Children with Disability Rights Neglected
09 Jan 2012 at 04:30hrs | Views
(09-01-12, Bulawayo) Stigmatised by part of an increasingly intolerant society, neglected by a state that is short of resources and facing potential abuse in institutions, the lives of Zimbabwean children living with disability could never be more complex. Having a disability while you swim in poverty in a country in economic and political crisis can only be a recipe for a challenging life.
Revelations by the Minister of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture (Manica Post, 20 December 2011) that some 33 percent of the children out of school in Zimbabwe have a disability is a sign of country failing to address disabled children's needs.
Mrs Libby Foster, Director of Nzeve Deaf centre, which looks after deaf children in Manicaland, is reported to have noted that in the case of hundreds of deaf children they struggle to support without external or government assistance: "These are the children BEAM is meant to help but they have not been getting BEAM funds."
The BEAM is the Basic Education Assistance Module, introduced in 2001 and financed by donor funds, to pay for school fees to those children who cannot afford them. The BEAM is managed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Services for the Ministry of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture. As noted by ZUPA President, Innocent Ndibali last week, the most deserving of children whose parents are unemployed in many parts of Zimbabwe are being denied access to BEAM in breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which became law in Zimbabwe on the 11th October 1990.
Such reports from the likes of Mrs Foster with a history of caring for children living with disability are a source of both embarrassment and emotional pain to me and my colleagues in ZUPA. This is an issue Rita Maponya of Manicaland, who heads the Overcoming Disability (ODiZ) organisation will find of particular interest.
Our culture should be one where in the event of crisis, the most vulnerable should be looked after first. That is what makes us a people with morals. Our founding principles as a nation are those of a community that gathers in times of trouble, crisis and tragedy to support victims, the weak and the sick, those less able or the bereaved.
What morals will the future generations hold on to if we as a nation turn a blind eye on the fate of the Zimbabwean child living with disability? Where are the politicians who declared: "I am in politics for the people" if the politicians sweep the rights of the child living with disability under the corroding carpet? How can the Ministers of Education and Labour and Social Services have good night sleep in the full knowledge that poor children living with disability are being denied access to the BEAM facility that should enable them to access education and a future.
There could be many reasons or factors contributing to the high rate of school drop outs being those with disability. One of these may be lack of facilities and training to ensure an inclusive education system that can accommodate children with disability.
The challenge in providing resources in education in Zimbabwe could be one of biblical proportions, but at least there should be practical steps to address these issues.
On the 27th September 2011, USD75 Million was pledged and USD45 Million provided by donor nations and agencies for such programmes as the BEAM. Why then should ZUPA and others like Mrs Foster have to fight for the Government to observe the right of the child living with disability?
With WHO statistics indicating an approximated 10 percent of the population having a known disability, Zimbabwe is running behind all known benchmarks in formulating laws and policies that make the lives of people living with a disability better. Zimbabwe falls short in many areas on a tick box against the expectations of the UN Convention on the Right of People Living with Disability.
In schools, there has been attempt by individual schools to include children with disability in mainstream school. There is no credible or up to date research to guide policy on whether mainstreaming this group of children is in their best interest or not. There is also a lack of facilities to promote integration and inclusion and inadequate training for teachers and families on such items as Sign Language for the deaf.
Brain drain has also played a part. At one time, Zimbabwe was believed to have only a handful of Speech and Language Therapists in the whole country if not one.
Teaching children with disability is challenging and complex. Teachers that have devoted their lifetime energy to assisting disabled children are this week considering going on strike following failure by Government to finalise their pay packages.
I hope as someone in ZUPA that the negotiations produce results that satisfy the teachers. Teachers are important in Zimbabwe. Many of them are joining ZUPA given our view that even the $538 will still leave the teachers or any other civil servant in poverty.
It is not rocket science to realise that due to the nature of Zimbabwean way of life, the level of demand on the few that are working extend to the extended family. Poverty datum level calculations must take into consideration the actual burden on a working Zimbabwean not on a European family size. $538 will therefore still leave the civil servants in poverty and needing ZUPA.
I know that ZUPA would be interested in working with unions representing the teachers to work out sustainable solutions to Zimbabwe's issues. We see no reason why civil servants should not be part of our community trusts to allow them to benefit from the God given resources in their provinces of origin.
As Mr Ndibali said, 2012 should be a year for mature solutions to Zimbabwe's problems by Zimbabweans. One can only hope therefore that the teachers will not be forced to walk out on the children who know no other avenue to a better future than the education boulevard.
I remain hopeful that the same spirit with which legislators were paid $15,000 allowances would prevail in the boardrooms to avoid industrial action. Above all the Government should think of consequences on the wider society and in particular the disabled child for whom access to the BEAM facility should never be a source of debate.
Zimbabwe urgently needs an audit of the needs of children with disability and find best practice elsewhere. Their rights matter too. It is time we renew ubuntu bethu.
This is the way I see it in the first week of 2012.
-------------------
Thamsanqa Zhou Jr is the Director of Strategy for ZUPA, the association in Zimbabwe representing the interest of unemployed people or in poverty. He is writing the Column "The Way I See it" every Monday, in his personal capacity and is contactable on ethugtj@yahoo.com
Revelations by the Minister of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture (Manica Post, 20 December 2011) that some 33 percent of the children out of school in Zimbabwe have a disability is a sign of country failing to address disabled children's needs.
Mrs Libby Foster, Director of Nzeve Deaf centre, which looks after deaf children in Manicaland, is reported to have noted that in the case of hundreds of deaf children they struggle to support without external or government assistance: "These are the children BEAM is meant to help but they have not been getting BEAM funds."
The BEAM is the Basic Education Assistance Module, introduced in 2001 and financed by donor funds, to pay for school fees to those children who cannot afford them. The BEAM is managed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Services for the Ministry of Education, Sports, Arts and Culture. As noted by ZUPA President, Innocent Ndibali last week, the most deserving of children whose parents are unemployed in many parts of Zimbabwe are being denied access to BEAM in breach of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child which became law in Zimbabwe on the 11th October 1990.
Such reports from the likes of Mrs Foster with a history of caring for children living with disability are a source of both embarrassment and emotional pain to me and my colleagues in ZUPA. This is an issue Rita Maponya of Manicaland, who heads the Overcoming Disability (ODiZ) organisation will find of particular interest.
Our culture should be one where in the event of crisis, the most vulnerable should be looked after first. That is what makes us a people with morals. Our founding principles as a nation are those of a community that gathers in times of trouble, crisis and tragedy to support victims, the weak and the sick, those less able or the bereaved.
What morals will the future generations hold on to if we as a nation turn a blind eye on the fate of the Zimbabwean child living with disability? Where are the politicians who declared: "I am in politics for the people" if the politicians sweep the rights of the child living with disability under the corroding carpet? How can the Ministers of Education and Labour and Social Services have good night sleep in the full knowledge that poor children living with disability are being denied access to the BEAM facility that should enable them to access education and a future.
There could be many reasons or factors contributing to the high rate of school drop outs being those with disability. One of these may be lack of facilities and training to ensure an inclusive education system that can accommodate children with disability.
The challenge in providing resources in education in Zimbabwe could be one of biblical proportions, but at least there should be practical steps to address these issues.
On the 27th September 2011, USD75 Million was pledged and USD45 Million provided by donor nations and agencies for such programmes as the BEAM. Why then should ZUPA and others like Mrs Foster have to fight for the Government to observe the right of the child living with disability?
With WHO statistics indicating an approximated 10 percent of the population having a known disability, Zimbabwe is running behind all known benchmarks in formulating laws and policies that make the lives of people living with a disability better. Zimbabwe falls short in many areas on a tick box against the expectations of the UN Convention on the Right of People Living with Disability.
In schools, there has been attempt by individual schools to include children with disability in mainstream school. There is no credible or up to date research to guide policy on whether mainstreaming this group of children is in their best interest or not. There is also a lack of facilities to promote integration and inclusion and inadequate training for teachers and families on such items as Sign Language for the deaf.
Brain drain has also played a part. At one time, Zimbabwe was believed to have only a handful of Speech and Language Therapists in the whole country if not one.
Teaching children with disability is challenging and complex. Teachers that have devoted their lifetime energy to assisting disabled children are this week considering going on strike following failure by Government to finalise their pay packages.
I hope as someone in ZUPA that the negotiations produce results that satisfy the teachers. Teachers are important in Zimbabwe. Many of them are joining ZUPA given our view that even the $538 will still leave the teachers or any other civil servant in poverty.
It is not rocket science to realise that due to the nature of Zimbabwean way of life, the level of demand on the few that are working extend to the extended family. Poverty datum level calculations must take into consideration the actual burden on a working Zimbabwean not on a European family size. $538 will therefore still leave the civil servants in poverty and needing ZUPA.
I know that ZUPA would be interested in working with unions representing the teachers to work out sustainable solutions to Zimbabwe's issues. We see no reason why civil servants should not be part of our community trusts to allow them to benefit from the God given resources in their provinces of origin.
As Mr Ndibali said, 2012 should be a year for mature solutions to Zimbabwe's problems by Zimbabweans. One can only hope therefore that the teachers will not be forced to walk out on the children who know no other avenue to a better future than the education boulevard.
I remain hopeful that the same spirit with which legislators were paid $15,000 allowances would prevail in the boardrooms to avoid industrial action. Above all the Government should think of consequences on the wider society and in particular the disabled child for whom access to the BEAM facility should never be a source of debate.
Zimbabwe urgently needs an audit of the needs of children with disability and find best practice elsewhere. Their rights matter too. It is time we renew ubuntu bethu.
This is the way I see it in the first week of 2012.
-------------------
Thamsanqa Zhou Jr is the Director of Strategy for ZUPA, the association in Zimbabwe representing the interest of unemployed people or in poverty. He is writing the Column "The Way I See it" every Monday, in his personal capacity and is contactable on ethugtj@yahoo.com
Source - Zupa
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