The AllAfrica.com website provides original reporting as well as aggregated content from over 130 news organizations across the continent, making it a perfect one-stop shop resource to continue this week’s globetrotting in observation of the United Nations’ 20th International Day of Persons with Disabilities.
The most positive story comes from South Africa. Gabi Khumalo of the South African Government News Agency joined a delegation of government officials on an inspection of the Tentele Activity Centre, which receives support from multiple agencies to operate as a work cooperative that provides employment opportunities and career training for people with disabilities.
Remarks by Deputy Minister Hendrietta Bogopane-Zulu of the the Department of Women, Children and People with Disabilities, echoed those of her superior, minister Lulu Xingwana, during last year’s observation of International Day of Persons with Disabilities, saying these individuals are ready for a more inclusive role in South African society:
We have transformed this, today we say ‘let them make money’. We believe that if they are given the necessary support, a business where standards are made and skills are developed, you begin to see that growth from a sheltered employment to cooperative.
Other African countries are striving to achieve the same progress as South Africa. Prisca Baike of Uganda’s newspaper, The Observer, reported that parliament is considering a new bill requiring organizations to ensure people with disabilities are part of their workforce.
As a precursor to legislative debate, Speaker of Parliament, Rebecca Kadaga, has asked private sector employers to provide data on recruiting from this population to date, as well as awareness on their part about available tax exemptions for the employment and accommodation of individuals with disabilities.
Uganda’s parliament is also considering taking action to ensure buildings are accessible under the guidelines of the UN’s Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, said Baike.
The Nigerian government, meanwhile, recently voted down two measures that would have improved public accommodation and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. An independent newspaper called Leadership blasted the National Assembly for this in a December 5 editorial entitled, “Enabling the Disabled.”
Nigeria is estimated to have 19 million people with disabilities, an amount “too large to be excluded from the policy framework.” Negative perceptions about people with disabilities continue to be the biggest barrier, said the editors, before making an eloquent plea to see these individuals for what they can do rather than what they cannot:
It has been empirically proven that persons with one disability or the other are naturally compensated with other gifts such as crafts, knowledge, wisdom and higher milk of human compassion. It would not be out of place to mainstream them and see them perform as public office holders or elected officials so that they can be better advocates of their plight.
Finally, while conditions are not necessarily good for anyone in the refugee camps of the war-torn Darfuri region of Sudan, the UN International Day of Persons with Disabilities was an occasion to spotlight the additional challenges faced by individuals with disabilities. Radio Dabanga reported that “a number of representatives from local and international organizations” visited Gaga Camp on Monday in an attempt to help resolve issues of unequal treatment and inadequate transportation. An unidentified camp leader “expressed his commitment to overcome the obstacles and find effective solutions to the problems disabled refugees encounter.”
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Image by Newport Geographic.