ABILITY OUTWEIGHS DISABILITY : “THE SHROUDED TRUTH”
Discrimination against people with disabilities is not a new issue. It is an on-going challenge that all People with Disabilities encounter and hope to overcome. Nevertheless, the growing awareness and recognition of the function, their future and contribution are necessitated by a paradigm shift from a ‘charity’ to a ‘human rights’ approach. People with disabilities have suffered from discrimination throughout the ages and it still persists today. The truth remains though they are perceived differently, treated differently and struggle to attain the acceptance enjoyed by the great majority of their non-disabled peers. This is what Winnie’s life was stuffed with. KIREZI Winnie is an eight-year-old girl from NYAGATARE District born with physical disability. Her mother is called KAYITESI Odette. The same day she was born, the same day her father left home pretending that Winnie is not his since all fathers from his own family never expel the cursed spermatozoids : “…the same day I gave birth the same day my husband left our home to Kigali arguing he can never be a father of a curse…Two months later, he married another woman ! I felt extremely agonised over that bad decision”. Said Odette. From that day, the life has never been easy with Odette who had to care for Winnie and her other two siblings. She kept on looking for financial means so that Winnie’s disability could be treated but this ended in vain until she felt downcast. She took a decision of locking Winnie away so that even neighbors should not be pocking fun at them. Fortuitously, this ended the day the UBUREZI IWACU Volunteers entered their home during the enrolment of participants. A very short discussion they had with Odette revealed itself as knight in shining armor : “…. I had locked away my daughter for almost 8 years simply because she was born with disability. I was feeling shamefaced to see her out till I met the UBUREZI IWACU community volunteer who encouraged me to take her to the neighboring reading club. I took her there and, since she joined others, she is making an impressive progress in oral expression, boldness, physical development, etc. I thank people who changed my mindset and who finally brought me to save the life of lovely daughter Winnie. It’s very hard to tell how very happy I feel today”. Odette uttered. KAYITESI has a good message to people who neglect and defame People with Disabilities : “…. they are as human as we are…they are important to the community as we are…they can change the world as we can…I am really sorry for what I did but, the message to the world and most specifically to parents who have children living with disability is that they have to love and care for them ! They are good and very humble people”. The USAID Homes and Communities Activity is a 5-year initiative that aims at ensuring that all Rwandan children have literacy-supportive, stimulating, safe home and community environments. It is currently being implemented in 30 Districts of Rwanda and the City of Kigali. It benefits 66,797 children from Kigali City and Eastern Province. 1,351 of them are children with disabilities.
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