Disability is not Inability or is it?
Written By Jane Njeri Thuo
Despite the spirited campaign by the government and NGOs to sensitize the public on the rights of the disabled,very little progress has been made in ensuring parity between disabled people and ordinary people in the society.Traditionally, the disabled were viewed as a curse to the family-wages for the sins of ancestors. They were often hidden in dark sheds, away from the prying eyes of curious neighbors.In the modern society,conversely, whereas they are not dreaded or hidden, the disabled are sympathized with, rather than encouraged to be more independent, as they should be.
As much as they are not openly undermined, they are still deemed as the ’less fortunate’ in the society.Take this example; it is generally thought of as taboo to stare, or worse sneer at a disabled person in a civilized society. And how do typical ‘civilized’ people react? Their natural instinct is to ignore the disabled, as a means of avoiding confrontation.Sadly though, the disabled in today’s society, while being relatively better catered for than those in earlier times, are still really frustrated and discouraged in the course of their education.It’s therefore no surprise that hardly any of these young talents make it to institutions of higher learning.
The few who pull through to universities often face even more grim trials in campus than in the outside world. They usually have very few, or no friends at school, with small social circles. Even worse, most universities don’t obligate to designing their facilities to ensure the comfort of disabled students. Habitually, you will find a wheelchair ramp here and there, but these are more often than not just placed conveniently by the administration to avoid getting sued by societies concerned with the welfare of the disabled students.
You may ask so how can all these challenges be overcome? Well the answer is, little can be done about the human attitude. Nevertheless ordinary students should be encouraged to accept and accommodate disabled students. In addition, disabled students should have representatives in the Students’ Councils. The students’ constitution should also be tailored to accommodate the needs of disabled students.
For those with extensive disability such as full immobility, blindness or deafness, the government and other humanitarian NGOs should fund the development of special institutions of higher learning for them to further their education. This will ensure the disabled are not relegated odd jobs in society such as tailoring, shoe-making and other plebeian occupations.
Remember Zack? The crippled man who attempted to travel all the way from Kenya to South Africa to get specialized therapy for patients with spinal injuries? His story inspired us all and thanks to him, a modern regional spinal injuries center is being built to cater for such people. But where did Zack go? No one seems to know, and in comes the media.The media has abdicated its role in ensuring special people like Zack are not forgotten in the society. This is doubtless one of the reasons why no one pays the deserved attention to the disabled.
As everyone is fond of saying, disability isn’t inability.The disabled deserve an equal chance at achieving their goals and dreams as does everyone else.Until we recognize this reality,ours can only be a modern democracy by name but a primitive one in actuality.
Closer back home, the Kenyan government, through the Ministry of Education, has made some pretty decent strides in ensuring parents take their children to school, regardless of disability. Under the new constitution it is a punishable offense to inhibit a child of schooling age from going to school, and quite a few parents have landed themselves on the wrong side of the law by preventing disabled children from going to school as other children do.
It is high time the government and society tries to make a positive change to ensure that people with special needs are not neglected nor feel to be so. Some more stringent measures need to be put right from the grassroot level upto high institutions,this is ensuring people with special needs can access bulidings and facilities comfortably at their convinience without being subjected to cumbersome means to access them. An example is easy access to buildings by provision of special staircases.
Reference: BY Lewis KANG'ETHE - Redcross president TTUC
Special Needs,Disability,Society