{"id":75086,"date":"2019-03-02T06:13:52","date_gmt":"2019-03-02T04:13:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.times.mw\/?p=75086"},"modified":"2019-03-02T06:13:52","modified_gmt":"2019-03-02T04:13:52","slug":"when-community-support-pays-off","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/2019\/03\/02\/when-community-support-pays-off\/","title":{"rendered":"When community support pays off"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Daniel Kasondo:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
MTAMILA \u2014 My neighbours keep tracing me just to ensure my safety<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It is 6:30 am and time to go to school. Showers continue mercilessly. However, the harsh weather condition is not an obstacle to ambitious Bizwick Kabambe\u2019s zeal for classes.<\/p>\n

He bravely gets into the rain with his locally made plastic schoolbag to protect his books from being soaked.<\/p>\n

To most children with disabilities, the rains would be an excuse for not going to school.<\/p>\n

But Bizwick crawls three kilometres on muddy road to Chikuli Primary School near Lirangwe Trading Centre, north of Blantyre City. He is determined not to miss any class.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite my disability, I made sure that I get educated,\u201d<\/em> Kabambe says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

He says his father always encouraged him to work hard at school because his disability would deny him most menial work.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of my colleagues were involved in loading and offloading goods in trains and buses at Lirangwe, which I couldn\u2019t,\u201d<\/em> he says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kabambe says his legs became paralysed when he suffered from cerebral malaria at the age of three.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut now I challenge that my brain and mind remain razor sharp to overcome any obstacle to my aspirations,\u201d<\/em> he says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kabamabe is now a tailoring and fashion designer instructor at Friends of Cod Hol in Thyolo Association Technical College in Luchenza Municipality, Thyolo.<\/p>\n

Apart from owing the success to his parents, he attributes his achievement to the role played by the community in his life, both at home and school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have reached this far because of the support I received from the community. My parents couldn\u2019t manage to raise me on their own. In fact, my parents died while I was young,\u201d<\/em> he says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kabambe says his parents bought him a wheelchair for easy mobility while relations pushed him to school.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was not discriminated against at all. My family and community were good. They provided for all my material and physical needs,\u201d<\/em> he says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To this effect, Kabambe says, if all communities upheld the rights of children with disabilities, most of them would not be in the streets.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost children with disabilities like me come from poor families which cannot afford basic necessities.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSo, if the community doesn\u2019t care about the welfare of such children, they become destitute,\u201d<\/em> he says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kabambe, however, says the issue is not just about money but perception towards the children.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost people have negative perception towards children with disabilities.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cSome children are still being locked up in houses. Others are ridiculed and face stigma and discrimination,\u201d<\/em> he says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Kabambe cites mirror discrimination despite numerous \u2018inclusion campaigns\u2019 by various human rights bodies.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne day I was on a shopping spree in Limbe when an Indian sent a worker with some coins to give me upon entry in his shop.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI told him I was too smart for his coins and that I went to the shop for shopping.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe apologised for his conduct,\u201d<\/em> Kabambe says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Special needs teacher Josephine Mtamila says community\u2019s attitude towards persons with disabilities has an effect on their future life.<\/p>\n

Mtamila, who has albinism, explains that she has gone through different cycles to become a teacher.<\/p>\n

She says, apart from her parents who struggled to support her education, neighbours also played a crucial role.<\/p>\n

\u201cSome paid for my school fees and provided groceries while others gave me clothes.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThis was the trend until I went to college,\u201d<\/em> she says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mtamila adds that apart from the material support, well-wishers also monitored her movements in the wake of attacks on people with albinism.<\/p>\n

\u201cI grew up in Bangwe Township in Blantyre. Despite working in Thyolo, my neighbours keep tracing me just to ensure my safety.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI receive calls from Bangwe daily,\u201d<\/em> she says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The Standard Four Chisawani Primary School teacher, therefore, wishes communities had deliberate interventions for persons with disabilities, particularly children.<\/p>\n

Last year\u2019s Malawi Broadcasting Corporation\u2019s Innovations Awards recognised a Luchenza-based young man with disability Charles George who operated a bicycle taxi with one leg.<\/p>\n

The exposure through the programme landed him a rare opportunity.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
EMPOWERED \u2014 George poses with his motorised pedal bicycle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Blantyre-based man, who asked not to be identified, bought George a Tanzanian made motorised bicycle.<\/p>\n

George says the motorised bicycle has transformed his life.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am making more money than before because every customer would like to ride my new bicycle,\u201d<\/em> he says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

To this effect, George believes that lives of people with disabilities can change if people develop interest to see them excel in society.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe community has a role towards our well -being. We don\u2019t need to be neglected if we are to be productive,\u201d<\/em> he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn my case, I am no longer struggling with pedaling. I can\u2019t believe I was doing this tough business with one leg,\u201d<\/em> George says.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

During commemoration of disability month organised by Federation for Disability Organisations in Malawi in Thyolo recently, Traditional Authority (TA) Bvumbwe asked communities to support persons with disabilities.<\/p>\n

Bvumbwe said he established a special committee at TA level that looks at the affairs of people with disabilities in his area.<\/p>\n

He said, through the committee, children with disabilities are supported in their education while the elderly are provided with financial and material support for their small businesses.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe mobilise money for the initiative and it works. We\u2019ve helped children with fees and the elderly with business capital just to improve their living conditions.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThere are men and women with disabilities with various skills who just need small support for them to start small-scale businesses.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCommunities can do something about it; it doesn\u2019t have to be government or non-governmental organisations always,\u201d<\/em> Bvumbwe said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Thyolo District Disability Forum Chairperson Sam Chigamba says it is high time communities realised that persons with disabilities can also contribute to national development.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to assist them grow into productive citizens and include them in all development programmes,\u201d<\/em> Chigamba says.<\/p>\n

\u201cI appeal to traditional leaders to emulate Inkosi [TA] Bvumbwe who initiated community support for persons with disabilities in his area,\u201d<\/em> Chigamba says. \u2013 Mana<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Daniel Kasondo: It is 6:30 am and time to go to school. Showers continue mercilessly. However, the harsh weather condition is not an obstacle to ambitious Bizwick Kabambe\u2019s zeal for classes. He bravely gets into the rain with his locally made plastic schoolbag to protect his books from being soaked. To most children with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":75093,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-75086","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75086","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=75086"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75086\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":75094,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/75086\/revisions\/75094"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/75093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=75086"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=75086"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/archive.times.mw\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=75086"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}