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Lumbidzani Dima, Chronicle Reporter
THE Golden Gate Ministries church hosted an early Christmas lunch for less privileged members of the community who are living with disabilities in Mpopoma suburb.

The event was organised by Reverend Samuel Mabhena of Golden Gate Ministries.

Those living with disabilities from around Bulawayo who were present talked about a number of challenges they face.

Mr Simbarashe Pindirire said some people living with disabilities are talented and after acquiring skills they struggle to get jobs as companies sideline them.

He also said there is lack of inclusive education in the country.

“Some of us graduate from different courses, but we don’t get employed. It’s more like we will be wasting our time by learning, we have talents, some of us are great singers but we lack equipment,” he said.

“When it comes to education, we wish for inclusive education especially at colleges. The President said the disabled should also be educated; we are asking for system devices that cater for us. We finished our courses at Jairos Jiri, but getting employed is an issue. No one wants to employ a disabled person; they think we cannot do things that other people can do.”

Another disabled person who spoke on condition of anonymity spoke of the electoral system of the country.

“Personally, I trained in Gweru as an election observer in 2010, but I was never called, none of the disabled were. We are crying out for practical implementation in all policies,” he said.

Mr Dumisani Tshabalala (27) a student at Jairos Jiri Association said the main challenge they are facing is lack of equipment such as wheelchairs.

“There are many disabled people out there, and we are disabled in different ways, some are blind, some are deaf, and others are crippled and we use different material things to help us live this life. The blind use walking sticks, the crippled use wheelchairs.  It’s a big challenge for us to get those things, we only get those after someone decides to give us a hand,” said Mr Tshabalala.

“We were told that we can go to banks for loans, but when we get there, they ask if we own any properties, and if you don’t have any, you get nothing. As disabled as I am, where can I get a house or a car, we are begging for a way in which they can just give us loans so that we can try and sell some jiggies to earn a living.”

Disabled People Visionary Committee (DPVC) chairman Mr Tapfuma Zhou who was representing the Special Advisor to the President on Disability issues Cde Joshua Malinga said President Mnangagwa has taken the lead to empower people living with disabilities through employing a judge who is blind.

“I would like to express my appreciation to the President, Mnangagwa and the Government of Zimbabwe for implementing the National Disability Policy (NDP) in June of this year. The President is leading by example in implementing the inclusive policy after he appointed Judge Samuel Deme in September 2021, who is blind,” said Mr Zhou.

He said the NDP supports the Vision 2030 of not leaving anyone behind.

“The NDP seeks to make the socio-economic livelihood of people living with disabilities be on par with non-disabled, and the President has promised to provide land to the disabled,” he said.

Mr Zhou said people with disabilities should exploit their opportunities.

“Being a disabled person does not limit you from planning, thinking, or doing things that any other person can do.

I’m urging any other disabled person to make sure that life is not all about always thinking about the disability that you have, it’s good to concentrate on your capabilities,” said Mr Zhou.