Mutasa-(New Ziana) – Some Community Childcare Workers (CCWs) in Manicaland’s Mutasa district have stepped up efforts in the fight against stigma and discrimination in children with disabilities following interventions by the Government and other stakeholders.
The ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare working together with the United Nations Children’s Education Fund (UNICEF) with funding from the government of Sweden offered them child protection training which is now making the difference with the rights of children with disabilities being upheld in the area.
Winnie Nyatsanza, a CCW from ward 24 in Manica Bridge said children with disabilities in the area used to suffer in silence without accessing basic requirements such as going to school, playing with others or even acquiring birth certificates as their parents were ashamed of their conditions and kept them in hiding.
“It was disheartening to note that such children were excluded from playing with others or attending school as their parents kept them away from the public glare fearing that the community would laugh at them,” Nyatsanza.
She said following the child protection training they received, they are now conscientising parents of children with disabilities on their children’s rights, educating them that such children are not different from any other children.
Working together with her village head, Nyatsanza said upon assessing the needs of such children she recommends the next steps to be taken, be it sending them to school, giving them food aid or help them acquire birth certificate.
She said the community has since embraced the initiative with some people now approaching her when ever they are faced with such challenges.
Beauty Jiri, another CCW from Honzo village concurred with Nyatsanza saying upon receiving reports from community members about children with disabilities who are being denied their rights they approach their families for counseling and advice, but once a stalemate is reached they refer the matter to the department of social welfare for further management.
“In our ward we had children with disabilities, some of whom were kept indoors, but through this program, we embarked of community awareness programs which gave positive change,” said Jiri.
She said some children with disabilities are now attending school some of which are equipped with facilities to suit their condition.
Various empowerment programs said Jiri have been rolled out for the benefit of such children, chief among them chicken and pig rearing schemes.
Blessing Mandigo however said, as CCWs they are facing a cocktail of challenges such as lack of money to buy airtime to communicate with authorities when the need arises or moving from one place to the other as the bicycles they received some time back are now worn out.
“Some of the time we come across cases that requires us to phone either the police or some other authorities, but we are hamstrung by lack of money to buy airtime or transport as our bicycles are worn out,” he said.
Mandigo said they also require regalia that makes them easily identifiable as well as satchels for carrying their books when they go out to engage the community.
New Ziana