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A motivated rehabilitation worker |
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My name is Nester Chiguri or Mrs. Muringa and I live in Hobhouse, a high density suburb in Mutare with my 2 children Shingirai and Kudzai. As a family we have a 4 roomed house which is still under construction but are finding it tough to make ends meet in our life due to financial constraints. For more than 10 years now I have been actively involved in coaching different sporting activities from pre school children to adult club members which I greatly do enjoy and it has become a special part of my life.
My life however got a new and very exhilarating twist when I suddenly started doing activities with children living with disabilities. In the beginning I was so shy to be associated with this unique global community but as time passed I began to understand the children and I found myself sinking deep into building strong relationships with them. In other words S4S social inclusion programme has thus taught me to give respect to all the people regardless of their physical or mental capabilities. We are all very significant members of the society.
During the outreach sessions I actually do enjoy playing games with the children but my interest have so far gone beyond only playing with them. I also take an advisory role as a mother and by all means I try to counsel the children on good hygienic practices as most of them come for the sessions with so much dirt and for some reasons it seems the mothers don’t care about how their children look when they either come for the sporting sessions or when they are playing with others in the community. This problem mainly affects the mentally challenged children as they get into the adolescent ages and therefore have to practice more hygiene but they lack adequate adult supervision and guidance hence I find myself wanting to help them with this crucial aspect in their lives.
Besides the outreach leisure sessions in the 5 suburbs, I have for the past years been so much excited with being involved in organizing S4S annual inter suburb festival. With the commencement of each year I look forward to this great event which unifies all the children with disabilities from Chikanga, Hobhouse, Dangamvura, Sakubva and Town. Not only does the event unify the children alone but also the parents of the children and members of the community. A typical example depicting that members of the community now appreciate the children with disabilities as normal members of the society is the fact that more and more of the children who are not living with disabilities are now being allowed and encouraged by their parents to play with the children living with disabilities.
Dignity, honor and respect from neighbours and members of the community have suddenly been thrust upon me due to my involvement in the social inclusion programme and I greatly do enjoy working for the children living with disabilities. However, for me to enjoy all the work it is also because of good team work being displayed by all the rehabilitation workers and my superiors. There is a good bond between all S4S employees and I feel free to relay any problems that I might be going through in life.
In a nutshell, I want all the people who will read or listen to this short manuscript that everyone in life has a unique talent and different ways of doing things. Such is the case with all the people living with disabilities. Please just try for a short period to understand, learn and get close to these special members of our community.
Bye,
Nester Chiguri
 My name is Nester Chiguri or Mrs. Muringa and I live in Hobhouse, a high density suburb in Mutare with my 2 children Shingirai and Kudzai. As a family we have a 4 roomed house which is still under construction but are finding it tough to make ends meet in our life due to financial constraints. For more than 10 years now I have been actively involved in coaching different sporting activities from pre school children to adult club members which I greatly do enjoy and it has become a special part of my life.
My life however got a new and very exhilarating twist when I suddenly started doing activities with children living with disabilities. In the beginning I was so shy to be associated with this unique global community but as time passed I began to understand the children and I found myself sinking deep into building strong relationships with them. In other words S4S social inclusion programme has thus taught me to give respect to all the people regardless of their physical or mental capabilities. We are all very significant members of the society.
During the outreach sessions I actually do enjoy playing games with the children but my interest have so far gone beyond only playing with them. I also take an advisory role as a mother and by all means I try to counsel the children on good hygienic practices as most of them come for the sessions with so much dirt and for some reasons it seems the mothers don’t care about how their children look when they either come for the sporting sessions or when they are playing with others in the community. This problem mainly affects the mentally challenged children as they get into the adolescent ages and therefore have to practice more hygiene but they lack adequate adult supervision and guidance hence I find myself wanting to help them with this crucial aspect in their lives.
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Read more... [A motivated rehabilitation worker]
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A successful businessman Moreblessing Machipisa 4-04-2011
I’m Moreblesing Machipisa and I live in Chikanga suburb with my grandmother, brother and sister since my mother passed away when I was still very young. My father is no longer staying at our house because he has another wife and they are staying in Harare. I am basically a very energetic boy and before I got my disability I enjoyed playing rugby and korfball.
In 2008 I had a stroke and the whole right side of my body was paralysed. Through physiotherapy sessions I gradually started to get my right leg and hand to move. It was however a very difficult period for me since I grew up without any disabilities and all of a sudden I had to start to learn how to walk and also use my right hand to hold things. At some point I felt like giving up since it seemed as if all my efforts were in vain. I felt so depressed and wondered what my friends would think of me now that I was living with a disability. However, my family was very supportive especially my brother and grandmother who kept on encouraging me not to give up.
The outreach leisure activities organized by S4S have also been of immense help since I got to meet and socialize with other children living with different types of disabilities. As time went on I began to realize that I was even in a better situation than other children who could not even walk sit or talk. The sessions have really helped me to improve the way I walk and also to have a firm grip on things using my right hand which was not functional for some time. I have come to appreciate all the people no matter their capabilities or incapacities; everyone has the right to life and all the opportunities that life has to give. At the sessions I have however realized that it’s possible for all people including children living with disabilities to have access to equal opportunities in life. Provided that a child living with a disability has been given enough assistance, that is, assistive devices, moral support, proper education as well as health services, he or she can actually live independently in most cases except for a few children who are multiply disabled and can’t fend for themselves. I have managed to make a lot of friends now and I can safely say that I socialize with everyone regardless of them being disabled or not. Living with a disability and coming for S4S leisure session has therefore helped me improve my social network and to avoid discriminating the people living with disabilities.
Currently I can walk but you can see that I limp leaning to my right side. I used to go to a secondary school in Sakubva called Elise Gledhill which is about 6 kilometres from home but since it is now so difficult for me to walk that far I was since transferred to a school which is situated in our residential suburb called Chikanga High School. Therefore I now have to walk only 2 kilometres from home to school. Sometimes during the school term I fail to go for the weekly leisure outreach sessions since some of the days we go to school in the afternoon. However, during the school holidays and during the period when we will be going to school in the morning, I always attend the leisure sessions.
I aspire to be a successful business person when I grow up and I want all the children and people living with disabilities to learn that the sky is the limit when it comes to leading a successful life. A person cannot run on one leg or clap with one hand. This therefore implies that our communities can’t all have one group of people only. There will always be able bodied and disable bodied members of the society and this is a normal and common phenomena. No person can deny the fact that every community will always have people living with disabilities. Every day we witness road accidents as well as accidents that occur in work places. Some children are also born with disabilities and some due to poverty and hunger or illness and hence they acquire disabilities. Lets therefore all live our lives well therefore bearing in mind that we get to experience the bliss of growth, disappointments at some time and also the joy and splendour of achievement.
Bye,
MoreBlessing
 I’m Moreblesing Machipisa and I live in Chikanga suburb with my grandmother, brother and sister since my mother passed away when I was still very young. My father is no longer staying at our house because he has another wife and they are staying in Harare. I am basically a very energetic boy and before I got my disability I enjoyed playing rugby and korfball.
In 2008 I had a stroke and the whole right side of my body was paralysed. Through physiotherapy sessions I gradually started to get my right leg and hand to move. It was however a very difficult period for me since I grew up without any disabilities and all of a sudden I had to start to learn how to walk and also use my right hand to hold things. At some point I felt like giving up since it seemed as if all my efforts were in vain. I felt so depressed and wondered what my friends would think of me now that I was living with a disability. However, my family was very supportive especially my brother and grandmother who kept on encouraging me not to give up.
The outreach leisure activities organized by S4S have also been of immense help since I got to meet and socialize with other children living with different types of disabilities. As time went on I began to realize that I was even in a better situation than other children who could not even walk sit or talk.
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Read more... [A successful businessman]
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Witchcraft and evil spirits |
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A storm of thoughts came and flooded my mind as I lay myself across the bed one night, “what if I wake up one day and all I see in front of me is an intense black infinite wall due to blindness? Or if no matter how hard I try to pay attention no sound spills into my ears due to deafness? What if walking becomes a steep mountain to climb due to a leg injury or if loneliness suddenly becomes a lifetime friend as people seclude me due to in capabilities” These are mere thoughts to me but a reality to tens, hundreds or even thousands of children living with disabilities in this world of ours.
Having worked with the children living with disabilities has actually given me a different insight and perspective of their capabilities and how the general public is supposed to relate with them. On numerous occasions they are given names, mocked as well as being ignored with the result that they feel as though they are unworthy members of the society whereas they are actually as significant as any other person. With them, we are able to do all the things in different ways though due to their disabilities.
As a way to alleviate the socio, psychological and physical imbalances existing in our communities S4S Zimbabwe has therefore launched a very vital social inclusion programme which has from 2008 been influential in making lives of children living with disabilities better. Marvelous displays of athleticism during community programmes as the children enjoy leisure activities have not only been able to improve the physical and psychological frames of the disabled children but also that of their able bodied peers and their parents. Now the social barrier due to disability being associated with witchcraft or evil spirits is gradually being dissolved with the result that an appreciation for the capabilities of the children living with disabilities has began to sprout from amongst most of the community members where activities with the children living with disabilities are being recognized.
With the Zimbabwean heat rising in shimmering waves from the ground, multitudes of children who are living with disabilities throng the venues of S4S Zimbabwe leisure outreach sessions. Not only them but also their friends and other family members who have gradually come to appreciate the fact that we are able to do things but in different ways though. The programmes significance does not only extend to games but also to providing counseling services to parents, assistive devices as well as funding for surgery to children who have correctable disabilities.
With the above in perspective, I have been exhilarated for the past year to work as the adapted and integrated activities officer for S4S. Waves of emotions always spiral through my veins as I go out to sessions and get a chance to befriend many children with disabilities in the 5 suburbs that we are currently implementing the social inclusion programme here in Mutare. You can’t just help but be ecstatic as you see how the children are so happy on many victorious sporting achievements.
Hopefully with time, the whole of Mutare, Zimbabwe and gradually the world is going to appreciate the people living with disabilities since our communities are an integrated place where all of us do not have uniform functions but combine to make our lives work. Such is therefore the case with our abilities and this should therefore click in the minds of everyone that disability does not mean inability. I know S4S contributing to a better place and I’m proud to be a part of it!
Bye,
Onai Dhlakama
 A storm of thoughts came and flooded my mind as I lay myself across the bed one night, “what if I wake up one day and all I see in front of me is an intense black infinite wall due to blindness? Or if no matter how hard I try to pay attention no sound spills into my ears due to deafness? What if walking becomes a steep mountain to climb due to a leg injury or if loneliness suddenly becomes a lifetime friend as people seclude me due to in capabilities” These are mere thoughts to me but a reality to tens, hundreds or even thousands of children living with disabilities in this world of ours.
Having worked with the children living with disabilities has actually given me a different insight and perspective of their capabilities and how the general public is supposed to relate with them. On numerous occasions they are given names, mocked as well as being ignored with the result that they feel as though they are unworthy members of the society whereas they are actually as significant as any other person. With them, we are able to do all the things in different ways though due to their disabilities.
As a way to alleviate the socio, psychological and physical imbalances existing in our communities S4S Zimbabwe has therefore launched a very vital social inclusion programme which has from 2008 been influential in making lives of children living with disabilities better. Marvelous displays of athleticism during community programmes as the children enjoy leisure activities have not only been able to improve the physical and psychological frames of the disabled children but also that of their able bodied peers and their parents. Now the social barrier due to disability being associated with witchcraft or evil spirits is gradually being dissolved with the result that...
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Read more... [Witchcraft and evil spirits]
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My name is Simon Sekete (su-kee-tu), I am residing at house number 475 Zororo (zo-ro-roo) in Sakubva (Sa-kub-va). This is the oldest and most high density suburb in Mutare. I’m looking after Talent. Talent is my brother’s son and I started looking after him when my brother passed away in 1998. During the period of his father’s death, his mother was no longer living with Talent which made it necessary for me to start looking after Talent. Later on his mother also passed away so Talent is now an orphan.
In the beginning it was quite a challenge to look after him. Talent has a disability called Cerebral Palsy. It is caused by brain damage. We don’t know if it happened during the pregnancy or during birth. But as for now, there are no problems or difficulties that I can say I am encountering with taking care of Talent since I now know all that he requires and what he needs to be happy. The rest of my family actually does enjoy having Talent around and people in the community have great respect for my son Talent. I have 3 children of my own, all of them boys which makes the total number of my children to be 4, Talent included. I am living in our family house since my father passed away and I am not the only person living at the house but also my young brother and his family live there. I live with my wife and though I do not have a formal job, I do some welding here and there which is a source of income for me and my family.
The reason why I decided to join the S4S programme is for Talent to meet and socialise with other children who are living with disabilities and those who are able bodied. I believe it helps him to meet and get to play with other children and he does not have to feel so lonely.
I also take the time when I come for the outreach sessions to share experiences with other parents taking care of children with disabilities. We actually get to strengthen each other through giving each other advice and acquiring knowledge from the various facilitators who are invited to help us on different topics, some of which we as the parents do request to be taught.
S4S has provided Talent with a wheelchair last year. Because of his disability Talent cannot walk. My wife used to carry Talent on her back for short distances. When we came to the S4S sessions I used to borrow a wheelbarrow from our neighbours to transport Talent. But during rainig season this was a problem as the wheelbarrow was needed in the fields so we couldn’t easily move around with Talent. But with the new wheelchair it is so much easier and Talent can sit up straight. He enjoys it and is such a happy child.
In the beginning of 2010 I took part in the training organised by S4S. The training has helped me to learn about how to be a good team builder as well as to write group constitutions which is a very vital aspect that will make our parent support group here in Sakubva self sustainable and organized. Furthermore we as parents were capacitated on how to start our own income generating projects. As we speak, our group here in Sakubva has raised money through group membership contributions and we are at the moment in the process of developing an idea for generating more money from the money that has been raised so far. However, since we also have ideas for even bigger income generating projects, we are hoping that S4S in future will be able to source funding so that we will commence on bigger incoming generating projects.
Bye,
Mr. Sekete
 My name is Simon Sekete (su-kee-tu), I am residing at house number 475 Zororo (zo-ro-roo) in Sakubva (Sa-kub-va). This is the oldest and most high density suburb in Mutare. I’m looking after Talent. Talent is my brother’s son and I started looking after him when my brother passed away in 1998. During the period of his father’s death, his mother was no longer living with Talent which made it necessary for me to start looking after Talent. Later on his mother also passed away so Talent is now an orphan.
In the beginning it was quite a challenge to look after him. Talent has a disability called Cerebral Palsy. It is caused by brain damage. We don’t know if it happened during the pregnancy or during birth. But as for now, there are no problems or difficulties that I can say I am encountering with taking care of Talent since I now know all that he requires and what he needs to be happy. The rest of my family actually does enjoy having Talent around and people in the community have great respect for my son Talent. I have 3 children of my own, all of them boys which makes the total number of my children to be 4, Talent included. I am living in our family house since my father passed away and I am not the only person living at the house but also my young brother and his family live there. I live with my wife and though I do not have a formal job, I do some welding here and there which is a source of income for me and my family.
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Read more... [A proud uncle...]
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My name is Tawanda Jazi, a young man aged 24 having been born on the 13th of September 1986. I am the third child in a family of six with the first and second born children being girls, the fourth a boy, the fifth a girl and the last born a boy again. I am always a happy person and enjoy sharing jokes with all age groups which has tremendously helped in making me a social person. I greatly enjoy surfing the internet, travelling and watching movies. Sadza and stew is the best food that you can offer me if I am to enjoy a meal when I visit you. I live in Dangamvura high density suburb which is situated in the mountainous city of Zimbabwe called Mutare close to the Zimbabwe Mozambican border. I love living here in Mutare because the weather is good; we receive a lot of sunshine throughout the year except for a brief period in winter where we have cold days and nights.
My birth was a normal one with no complications whatsoever and my first cry as I entered this beautiful world of ours I was received with ululation from relatives and friends followed by murmurs of approval since I was the first son to be born in our family. This therefore signifies that I was not disabled from birth but acquired my disability at a later stage after birth. According to what I was told by my parents, when I was 3 months old I was given a BCG injection which was not ok with me and I fell sick resulting in my disability. The fingers on both my hands and legs are deformed and my speech also has been affected to an extend that I talk a little bit slower than normal. To most people I also walk different from others due to the deformity on my lower limbs. However, despite all this I am immensely motivated internally that I actually have made quite a lot of friends in the community where I live.
I did my primary education, that is, grade one to seven at Chirowakamwe primary school situated here in Dangamvura. For some time when I started school, other children would give me names but I never paid any attention to all of their funny comments. I knew from the time I was still so young that for every hour that you spent sad you lose sixty minutes of happiness so I kept myself happy all the time. My family was very influential in boosting my self esteem since they treated me the way any other child is supposed to be treated. Having completed my primary education, I then moved on to Elise Gledhill for my Ordinary level education.
The people in my community now treat me like any other person thanks to the S4S Social Inclusion Programme. Being involved in this programme has hammered into people’s minds that though I am living with a disability it does not mean that I can’t interact with other able bodied children. At the sessions we play as mixed groups, that is, both able bodied and CWDs playing together which fosters the idea that our communities have to accept the fact that being disabled does not mean that a person is insignificant. To get to the venue of activities which is Dangamvura primary I walk for about 15 minutes. I enjoy being self dependent so I always come alone to the sessions. However, I have made quite a lot of friends at the sessions; in fact, all the children that I play with are my friends. A lot of the children that come for the sessions are younger than me but I don’t mind that, we can’t all have the same age in life and I take pride in leading by example to the very young participants. I do enjoy playing knocking down barriers, soccer and Island at the leisure sessions that are organized by S4S. Because of most children that come for the sessions being disabled, we all understand each other and it actually soothes the soul to know that you are not the only person who is living with a disability.
Not only have I managed to make friends with able bodied children and CWDs but I have also had the opportunity to enjoy interacting with more people during a festival that I attended in Chikanga where there were lots of children from all over Mutare. This was a very exciting event and though this year I failed to come for the festival I know and have heard that people did enjoy. If I had not travelled, I am definitely sure I would have shared the fun that my friends had on that special occasion.
Therefore to all the children and people living with disabilities out there, take it from me, our lives are so precious. Like all the other people, we pass through the bliss of growth, the splendor of achievements and the glory of our actions. Live well therefore, so that you make your past life a dream of happiness and your future life a vision of hope.
Tawanda Jazi
 My name is Tawanda Jazi, a young man aged 24 having been born on the 13th of September 1986. I am the third child in a family of six with the first and second born children being girls, the fourth a boy, the fifth a girl and the last born a boy again. I am always a happy person and enjoy sharing jokes with all age groups which has tremendously helped in making me a social person. I greatly enjoy surfing the internet, travelling and watching movies. Sadza and stew is the best food that you can offer me if I am to enjoy a meal when I visit you. I live in Dangamvura high density suburb which is situated in the mountainous city of Zimbabwe called Mutare close to the Zimbabwe Mozambican border. I love living here in Mutare because the weather is good; we receive a lot of sunshine throughout the year except for a brief period in winter where we have cold days and nights.
My birth was a normal one with no complications whatsoever and my first cry as I entered this beautiful world of ours I was received with ululation from relatives and friends followed by murmurs of approval since I was the first son to be born in our family. This therefore signifies that I was not disabled from birth but acquired my disability at a later stage after birth. According to what I was told by my parents, when I was 3 months old I was given a BCG injection which was not ok with me and I fell sick resulting in my disability. The fingers on both my hands and legs are deformed and my speech also has been affected to an extend that I talk a little bit slower than normal. To most people I also walk different from others due to the deformity on my lower limbs. However, despite all this I am immensely motivated internally that I actually have made quite a lot of friends in the community where I live.
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Read more... [A role model]
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Inter-suburb Awareness Festival |
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Early Saturday morning the 31st of July I drive to Dangamvura, one of the suburbs where S4S is implementing the Social Inclusion Programme. After a short but intensive preparation period, today the yearly Inter-Suburb Festival is organized! Children and parents have been looking forward to this day for months! Our staff Onai and Henry organized this festival together with the overall Parent Support Group Committee. Every Monday they came together in our office in town to divide tasks, discuss current issues and discuss the to-do-list. Of course, none of these meetings took place without the usual pot of tea and biscuits. Meetings that always took longer as planned due to the important discussions.
Mutare was very supportive this year; we nearly got all the food and drinks for the festival donated from our suppliers. This Saturday morning I drive with fresh bread, 100 KG beef and a sound system to Dangamvura Primary School. When I arrive at the venue at about 7 AM there is no staff of volunteers present, which makes me panic slightly. All the food needs to be cut, the table for the guest needs to be set up and so much more needs to be done. But after half an hour staff and volunteers slowly come in and within no time everybody is working. Henry coordinates the cooking, while Onai coordinates the activities. I drive back to town for one more load, this time the jumping castle. When I return at the venue at half past 8 most parents and children have arrived. Onai had arranged a bus per suburb to pick everybody up and that worked perfect! By 9 AM all participants are present, but now we have to wait for our guests to arrive!
Around 10 AM the most important guests are present and we start with an opening speech from Onai, followed by a short welcome from myself. Then 2 children living with a disability, Memory and Last, read out their poems about living with a disability. The parent group of Dangamvura follows with 2 songs. It sounds amazing and there are smiling faces everywhere. To end the awareness activities Mrs. Nyabadza reads out a joke to the participants and guest. They cannot stop laughing! After these awareness activities the Mayor of Mutare, and one of our biggest supporters, addresses the parents and the children. It is quiet and the Mayor confirms in everybody’s presence his support and officially opens the festival. Havemore has translated all the drama and speeches into sign language for the hearing impaired children.
After the official opening the children go in smaller groups to their activities. Onai has organized it perfect; the rehabilitation workers are responsible for the games while the parents/guardians are responsible for the different groups of children. The games played are 5-a-side soccer, tug of war, sitting volleyball and different Kicking AIDS Out games like 10 pass (a ball game) and Don’t trust your eyes followed by some discussion about HIV/AIDS. The children, but also their parents are so excited! Everywhere you hear laughter and you see smiling faces!
Suddenly there is chaos. The mothers who are cooking come running to me asking for chicken. There are a few children who don’t eat beef and therefore there must be chicken. But where do we get chicken from now? The mothers refer me to the supermarket across the road, but unfortunate there is no chicken due to the ban on imported chickens. Mrs. Umali who came with me is talking Shona to me and making all sorts of hand gestures. I don’t know what she is talking about but assume she can arrange chicken. And indeed, back at the school another woman comes running towards us and together they jump into the chicken run and within no time they’re outside again with two, skinny, chickens. The mothers are satisfied and continue cooking.
Around 1 PM the multiple disabled children and young disabled children come to the jumping castle. Carefully they are lifted onto the castle and I decide to play along with them. The children laugh and scream of happiness. Slowly the other children come to the jumping castle after finishing their games. When the fathers cannot control it anymore, we continue with the price giving. There are no official winners or losers, today everybody is a winner. All children receive an exercise book and a pen donated by our local stationary supplier. After the price giving it is time for lunch. All children and parents get a plate of sadza with cabbage salad, beef and vegetables in an oily sauce and for desert a banana! They all enjoy!
While we clean up all the children and their parents are collected by the busses. We look back at a perfect day with 168 youth and children living with disabilities and 110 of their parents/guardians who raised awareness about disabilities themselves and showed their abilities during the games! I can’t help but smiling when a father comes to me to thank me for the wonderful day for him and his multiple disabled son. His smile and handshake tell me more than 1000 words could do. S4S has again made the difference in the lives of the children AND their parents!
Isabel
 Early Saturday morning the 31st of July I drive to Dangamvura, one of the suburbs where S4S is implementing the Social Inclusion Programme. After a short but intensive preparation period, today the yearly Inter-Suburb Festival is organized! Children and parents have been looking forward to this day for months! Our staff Onai and Henry organized this festival together with the overall Parent Support Group Committee. Every Monday they came together in our office in town to divide tasks, discuss current issues and discuss the to-do-list. Of course, none of these meetings took place without the usual pot of tea and biscuits. Meetings that always took longer as planned due to the important discussions.
Mutare was very supportive this year; we nearly got all the food and drinks for the festival donated from our suppliers. This Saturday morning I drive with fresh bread, 100 KG beef and a sound system to Dangamvura Primary School. When I arrive at the venue at about 7 AM there is no staff of volunteers present, which makes me panic slightly. All the food
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Read more... [Inter-suburb Awareness Festival]
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My name is Marshall Samungure. I am a boy aged 9 and I live with my mother who is a single parent. My mother and father separated when I was 3 years old. Right now my mother works in a local supermarket called Spar as a general hand so that she can provide for our day to day needs.
I live at house number 509 Chikanga 1 Mutare which is a medium density suburb. My mother and I are living with Ellah, my mother’s younger sister and we all are a happy family.
Right now Iam in grade 3 at 3 Brigade Primary School which is near our house and it is situated inside an Army Barrack. We do have different educational system then The Netherlands for example. Sometimes I can only to school for half days because there is a shortage of classrooms and teachers. My favourite subject is Mathematics and my teacher likes me because I know multiplication tables very well. That is what I like the most!
My disability is that I have a deformed hand due to a bus accident that occurred in 2008 when we were on a bus with my mother coming from our rural area in Honde Valley, about 80 kilometers from Mutare. Due to the injury my left hand can’t bear carrying heavy things and doing other strenuous things. My mother sometimes helps me to take a bath especially when my hand is painful because I will not be able to get it straight. I however try by all means to do everything for myself but not always do I succeed because of my disability. This sometimes makes me sad but I thank my mother a lot for being supportive and motivational to me.
Most children and even older people in our community love me because I am always happy and like to share jokes with everyone. I however sometimes face problems with my peers who at times give me funny names because of my hand. This hurts me a lot because when I was born I had no problems at all and I miss being able to do a lot of things due to the injury.
I go for S4S session at Murahwa Primary School in Chikanga and I so much enjoy playing with the other children living with disabilities because they understand me better and nobody laughs at me there. I walk about 20 minutes from home to the venue of the activities sometimes alone and sometimes with my friend Roy who lives near our house. Roy is not disabled but he can join the activities without any problems! During the games I enjoy cone relay and soccer the most and I am very good at these games. I am also very happy to go for wheelchair tennis sessions with S4S. I had never played it before but I really did like it and hope that in future I will be a very good tennis player.
Through S4S I have managed to meet new friends from our suburb and also from other suburbs. I now play with Takudzwa Nyagondore who learns at Chengetai School of mentally challenged people and also when I went for wheelchair tennis I met Simbarashe from Sakubva suburb. It was great!
Tooana,
Marshall
 My name is Marshall Samungure. I am a boy aged 9 and I live with my mother who is a single parent. My mother and father separated when I was 3 years old. Right now my mother works in a local supermarket called Spar as a general hand so that she can provide for our day to day needs.
I live at house number 509 Chikanga 1 Mutare which is a medium density suburb. My mother and I are living with Ellah, my mother’s younger sister and we all are a happy family.
Right now Iam in grade 3 at 3 Brigade Primary School which is near our house and it is situated inside an Army Barrack. We do have different educational system then The Netherlands for example. Sometimes I can only to school for half days because there is a shortage of classrooms and teachers. My favourite subject is Mathematics and my teacher likes me because I know multiplication tables very well. That is what I like the most!
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Read more... [Soccer and math’s]
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Mangwanani, Uribho? (Good morning, how are you?) The first column from Zimbabwe! This time not from the children, their parents or our staff but written by myself. Who I am? I’m Isabel de Vugt and I am de founder of S4S.
In Zimbabwe we aim to improve the quality of life of youth and children living with disabilities and their families. Therefore we implement the so called ‘Social Inclusion Programme’. When in Zimbabwe a baby is born with a handicap, people see this as a curse or work from the devil as a punishment on a sin from the parent or grandparents. Because of this youth and children living with disabilities often are neglected by family and community. A lot of children with disabilities are not able to go to school, visit the doctor when they are sick or play outside with able and disabled friends. Children living with disabilities are also more at risk to be bullied, laughed at and (sexually) abused.
S4S has the headquarters based in Mutare, a border town in the Eastern Highlands. Here we work with 4 staff members to implement the different activities with the Social Inclusion Programme. At this moment our programme in Mutare is attended by over 450 youth and children living with disabilities and about 220 parents/guardians. From our office we operate in 5 suburbs which we attend each on a different day in the week so that the children and their parents can attend the sessions in their own suburbs. Transport is expensive and often there are limited possibilities for the children and their parents. Some children attend the sessions on their own, others come together with their parents or guardians.
The Social Inclusion Programme consists of different activities. We start with the identification of youth and children living with disabilities in the suburbs. Sometimes the children are locked away out of shame or not knowing what to do, others cannot leave the house due to their level of disability. As soon as we know where the children are, we invite the child and the parents or guardians to come to our office where we do assessments and intakes every Friday morning. This means that we assess and discuss the situation of every child and family and collect the information in a database. In Zimbabwe nobody knows, even not the government, how many people are living with a disability or what the causes are!
After the intake the children come together once a week in their suburb for the outreach activities: adapted and integrated leisure activities together with their able-bodied peers! By participating together in these activities the children learn to work together, they learn about disabilities, HIV/AIDS and the rights of children living with disabilities. The children always have a lot of fun during these outreach sessions! The children who are in need of it also receive physiotherapy. Their parents or guardians learn from the physiotherapist how to continue with the exercises at home. Imagine that most of the children have never had physiotherapy before and that because of that their disabilities have gotten worse over time.
The parents of the children come together on a weekly basis in their Parent Support Groups where they discuss their problems but also support each other on different issues. They take part in an internal savings programme, poultry project and vegetable project in order to generate some small income which enables them to maintain the family and finance the extra costs related to the disability of their child.
A lot of activities as you can see! From next month onwards you will hear from the children and their parents themselves how they experience the activities of S4S en how it is to live with a disability in Zimbabwe!
Tooana (Bye),
Isabel
 Mangwanani, Uribho? (Good morning, how are you?) The first column from Zimbabwe! This time not from the children, their parents or our staff but written by myself. Who I am? I’m Isabel de Vugt and I am de founder of S4S.
In Zimbabwe we aim to improve the quality of life of youth and children living with disabilities and their families. Therefore we implement the so called ‘Social Inclusion Programme’. When in Zimbabwe a baby is born with a handicap, people see this as a curse or work from the devil as a punishment on a sin from the parent or grandparents. Because of this youth and children living with disabilities often are neglected by family and community. A lot of children with disabilities are not able to go to school, visit the doctor when they are sick or play outside with able and disabled friends. Children living with disabilities are also more at risk to be bullied, laughed at and (sexually) abused.
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Read more... [Welcome to Zimbabwe!]
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 Henry, our National Programme Coordinator, is for a few weeks in The Netherlands to participate in an international fundraising conference and to visit our funders. This means that I am taking over his duties, in the office but also on the ground. For the next weeks I will visit all the sessions, lead the PSG’s, make sure the sportleaders are doing their work with the children and do the assessments of new children.
When I am in Hobhouse, the furthest and most isolated suburb around Mutare, I do the assessment and intake of a new disabled guy. He has been coming to the sessions for a while, but without one of his parents we cannot do the complete assessment. The mother speaks broken English and my Shona is not that good either. But with the basics of both languages we come quite far. When I try to find out the date of birth of Faith, the boy I am assessing, the mother says he is 21. But she wants me to see his birth certificate and sends Faith home to collect it.
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Read more... [On the ground]
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Written by Isabel de Vugt
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Tuesday, 11 November 2008 00:00 |
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 Wonen en werken in een land waar de wetten er niet toe doen en regels ter plekke worden verzonnen, vraagt een groot aanpassingsvermogen, creativiteit en enorm veel geduld. Neem nu het betalen van openstaande rekeningen. Helaas gaat dat niet even snel via internetbankieren of met het uitschrijven van een acceptgiro. Nee, het betalen van rekeningen vraagt een uitstekende planning, afhankelijk van de door de betaler gewenste methode. Er zijn grofweg drie opties, die alle drie zo lang mogelijk worden uitgesteld tot de uiterlijke betalingstermijn.
Optie 1, is de meest voor de hand liggende en eenvoudigste methode, mits er genoeg contant geld aanwezig is. Men neemt de US dollars naar een wisselaar waar je de huidige koers van de dag krijgt. Natuurlijk stapt men niet op de eerste de beste wisselaar af, nee er wordt eerst goed ‘geshopt’. Dit houdt in dat voor de daadwerkelijk transactie eerst een periode van SMS- |
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Read more... [Geld]
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