The Sunday Mail
Dr Christine Peta Disability Issues
To demonstrate that disability is not inability, this article outlines the narrative of Shelter Jasi, a woman who lost her sight at the age of two when she was not immunised against measles. Shelter was born in a family of 10 and in her early years of childhood, she did not know what it meant to be blind, so she used to think that she was just like everyone else until she turned six and started to sense that she was different.
She realised that other children of her age were faster than her in doing things and her parents explained to her that she was totally blind, hence she had to learn everything through touching and smelling.
When other children of her age started school she was not enrolled to start Grade One in mainstream school. Nevertheless, at more or less the same time, some officials from the United Methodist Church visited her rural village in Murehwa and explained that they were opening a resource room for blind pupils at Murehwa Mission.
Her parents enrolled Shelter to start Grade One at Murehwa Mission and she began to learn Braille. At that time there were just four blind pupils at the school but the number of blind students later increased. Upon completing her primary school education, she enrolled for high school at Capota School for the Blind in Masvingo. She passed her Ordinary Level exams before enrolling at Dorothy Duncan Centre in Greendale for a rehabilitation course where she learnt to operate the switchboard, typing and indoor mobility, among other things.
At the completion of the course, Shelter was offered employment at the Dorothy Duncan Old People’s Home as a receptionist, a position which had fallen vacant at the time (April 1988). About two years later and on Workers’ Day, May 1, 1990, Shelter was presented with a Worker of the Year Award by His Excellency President Robert Gabriel Mugabe at Rufaro Stadium in Harare.
Shelter said, “To be Worker of the Year and to shake hands with the President is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. I always remember the President saying to me ‘makorokoto, makorokoto’ (congratulations, congratulations). I never thought that a blind woman could shake hands with the President, I was very happy and I keep a photo of the President and myself both at home and in the office.”
Shelter narrated that at the Worker’s Day occasion, the President presented her with a trophy and a cash gift. She used some of the money to buy a cow for herself in her rural village in Murehwa, with the hope that the cow would reproduce, thereby enabling her to venture into animal farming. Sadly the cow died before it had reproduced.
When the old people’s home in Greendale closed down, Shelter moved to Dorothy Duncan Centre in the city. Although she is still employed as a receptionist, her job description has enlarged. Beyond manning the reception, Shelter has taken on the role of teaching switchboard skills to all students who attend rehabilitation programmes at the centre. In addition, she proof reads books that are printed in Braille at the centre and makes relevant corrections. Such books include novels and primary and secondary school text books.
Disability-related challenges
Shelter narrated that she is satisfied with her job but the challenge is that visual impairment drains her income in ways that are unique to blindness. For example, Shelter has to pay public transport fees for a relative who accompanies her from home (Domboshava) to work in the city, as well as on the return journey in the evening. Shelter could use such funds for other necessities but because she is blind she faces challenges in using the public transport system on her own, hence she needs personal assistance. She narrated that living in rented accommodation is not easy because as a blind person, she is the first one to be blamed for anything that goes wrong. “If the toilet is messed up by children, the landlord will just say it’s this blind woman who messes up the toilet because she does not see anything, but you see even if I am blind, I have been trained to use the toilet properly.”
Pained by the emotional abuse that landlords perpetrate against her in rented accommodation on the grounds of visual impairment, Shelter asked a colleague to assist her to secure her own place of residence. “He said he was a building contractor, so I gave him my savings and he promised to buy me a piece of land in Domboshava and to later help me build a house. He disappeared with the money, and when I tried to report to the police, they said they could not help me because I did not have a written agreement.”
In 2014, Shelter approached the Government for assistance and she was allocated 200 square metres of land in Ruwa. She is, therefore, appealing to well-wishers to help her build a house of her own. She has dependants that include her late brother’s daughters and her sister’s daughter.
Way forward
Shelter is appealing to employers to refrain from regarding visually impaired persons as non-productive beings. “I think employers should consider the skills and abilities of visually impaired persons because the fact that a person is blind does not mean that they are unproductive, we can do a good job in spite of disability and we can also give good advice.”
Shelter narrated that a high number of visually impaired persons resort to street begging, not because they are unemployable, but because prospective employers look down upon them on the grounds of visual impairment. “Although I am blind, give me a job to do and pay me, instead of thinking that I should just beg in the streets because I am blind.”
Shelter advises parents of children with disabilities to make every effort to send their children to school. “With education, children with disabilities can make something out of their lives, instead of depending on parents and family members for life, they can live independent lives in adulthood and even help non-disabled family members in times of need.”
To persons with disabilities, Shelter says: “No one will bring money to us whilst we are sitting in our homes, let us try to go out there and look for work so that we are paid for it.”
The medical model of disability infers that disabled people are sick persons who all they ever need is medical care. Such a model influences people to think that persons with disabilities should be excluded from normal obligations of society such as education and work because they are ill. The approach limits opportunities for people with disabilities and narrows their chances of becoming educated and economically independent. We ought to make efforts to integrate persons with disabilities in education and employment along with everyone else, so as to enhance their ability to live independently.
- Dr Christine Peta is a public healthcare practitioner who, among other qualifications, holds a PhD in Disability Studies. Be part of the international debate on how best to nurture a society which is more accessible, supportive and inclusive of disabled people. Partner with Disability Centre for Africa (DCFA) on [email protected]
