By Tatiana Mhararira
The Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace (CCJP) conducted a Citizens Duty Bearers Engagement Forum with Kufakunesu villagers in Ward 13 of Bikita West on disability rights, allowing villagers to share their perspectives on the topic on November 1, 2024.
The community engagement program enabled villagers to discuss actions that could be taken to support people with disability in the community.
Several key issues were raised by the villagers, including the lack of consideration for voices of people living with disabilities (PWDs) during public meetings, the absence of ramps in most public toilets to assist the disabled, exclusion of PWDs from food donation distributions, leaving them without support and it was noted that non-disabled individuals could not adequately represent the interests of the disabled.
CCJP project officer Barnabas Matenga said the community engagement was aimed to amplify the voices of PWDs and ensure their rights were respected.
“The programme strengthen the capacity and opportunities of various marginalized citizens and organized citizen groups, particularly women, youth, and PWDs, to exercise their rights and advocate for change across Masvingo.
The capacities of PWDs were developed, creating spaces for them to engage with duty-bearers on relevant human rights issues, hold them accountable, and collaboratively implement agreed-upon action plans. This project elevates the voices of PWDs, enabling them to advocate for their rights and needs,” he said.
Addressing villagers at the same event, ward 13 Councillor Elliot Chapinda stressed the importance of transparency in resource allocation among villagers, including PWDs, and stressed that public infrastructure should accommodate disabled individuals.
“Corruption is rampant, as the responsible authorities fail to provide transparency in sharing donations, leaving disabled people at a disadvantage. This is an issue I wish to address while advocating for disability rights in my ward.
“By law, every institution should have ramps for PWDs, and boreholes drilled in this area should be located close to where PWDs reside. As a community, we also want to combat discrimination against albinos, as they are human beings like the rest of us,” Chapinda said.
Chapinda encouraged the PWDs to move along with the digital age so as to get information on time.
“I also encourage disabled individuals in the area to embrace modern technology and gain access to information. They should strive to obtain smartphones to receive information quickly through WhatsApp and other social media platforms,” he said.
Speaking to TellZim News after the event, one of the villagers, Walter Manasa, said CCJP’s community engagements and training sessions helped villagers understand their constitutional rights.
“The training made us aware of our human rights, particularly through the previous community engagement that focused on Section 56, reminding us that no one should be left behind in any aspect.
“These training sessions provided by CCJP have taught us how to manage conflicts peacefully without resorting to violence. This has contributed to a reduction in gender-based violence (GBV) cases among PWDs and has fostered respect for diverse viewpoints during public meetings,” said Manasa.
Mavis Mazhara, a PWD, said that the community engagement has allowed her to voice her opinions and access resources just like able-bodied individuals.
“Today’s meeting enlightened me on the need to share my views with the councillor. I have learnt that even though I am disabled, I am an important member of the community and should benefit from resource allocations just like everyone else in the village,” said Mazhara.
Another villager Samuel Kufakunesu said the engagement was significant, as it taught him how to better coexist with PWDs and understand the challenges they face in the community.
“The meeting organized by CCJP has shown us how to live harmoniously with PWDs and collectively address the challenges they encounter so they can lead fulfilling lives, just like able-bodied individuals.
“We proposed that anyone building a toilet at their home should consider that one day they might become disabled or have visitors with disabilities, so these factors should be taken into account by the entire village when constructing new facilities,” said Kufakunesu.
As a way forward, the community established a disability advocacy committee to assist in promoting disability rights.
