Vimbai
Zvinowanda
from
Zvishavane
is
living
her
dream
of
being
one
of
Zimbabwe’s
top
athletes
after
qualifying
for
this
year’s
Paris
Paralympic
Games.
Zvinowanda,
an
amputee,
will
represent
the
country
in
the
T47
400-metre
category
at
the
global
event
after
excelling
at
the
recent
African
championships
held
in
Marrakech,
Morocco.
She
wants
to
inspire
young
people
with
disabilities
in
the
country,
and
she
partly
attributes
her
success
to
assistance
from
the
Zimbabwe
Parents
of
Handicapped
Children
Association
(ZPHCA).
“I
am
a
sportsperson,
and
the
ZPCHA
taught
us
as
young
people
with
disabilities
to
be
confident
because
lack
of
confidence
can
negatively
affect
your
performance,”
Zvinowanda
said.
“I
was
in
Morocco
last
month
because
of
sport and won
two
gold
medals.
It
was
not
something
I
was
expecting.”
The
rising
athlete
is
a
beneficiary
of
a
ZPHCA
advocacy
programme
being
implemented
in Epworth
(Harare),
Mutasa
(Manicaland),
Beitbridge
(Matabeleland
South),
and
Zvishavane
(Midlands)
to
strengthen
caregivers’
capacity
to
advocate
for
free
access
to
specialised
disability
services.
ZPHCA’s
initiative
is
part
of
a
programme
by
the
Ministry
of
Public
Service,
Labour
and
Social
Development
supported
by
UNICEF’s
Child
Protection
Fund
III
and
funded
by
the
Swedish
International
Development
Agency
(SIDA)
that
empowers
youths
with
disabilities
to
assert
their
rights.
“I
want
to
thank
UNICEF
and
the
ZPHCA
for
the
advocacy
training,”
Zvinowanda
said.
“They
taught
us
how
to
advocate
for
services
provided
by
different
government
departments
and targeted
at
youths
with
disabilities.
“I
learnt
that
when
one
has
challenges
like
lack
of
school
fees,
they
can
approach
the
Department
of
Social
Welfare,
and
we
were
taught
that
disability
does
not
mean
inability.”
She
wants
to
play
her
role
in
driving
projects
that
empower
people
with
disability
as
a
way
of
giving
back
to
the
organisations
that
she
says
changed
her
life.
“I
have
always
had
a
dream
to
help
people
with
disabilities,”
Zvinowanda
said.
“I
want
to
start
an
organisation
that
helps
people
with
disabilities,
and
I
already
have
a
name
for
it.”
Priscilla
Chibadza,
who
looks
after
an
11-year-old
grandson
with
cerebral
palsy
and
speech
impairment
from
Zvishavane’s
Ward
16,
said
ZPCHA’s
advocacy
training
had
given
her
hope
that
the rights
of
children
with
disabilities
would
be
protected.
“My
grandson
Takudzwa
suffers
from
cerebral
palsy
and
speech
impairment,”
Chibadza
said.
“He
lost
his
mother
to
breast
cancer,
and
I
had
to
take
him
in
because
his
father
was
finding
it
challenging
to
take
care
of
him.
“We
didn’t
understand
Takudzwa’s
condition,
but
after
training
from
the
ZPCHA,
we
started
to
appreciate
that
children
with
disabilities
are
just
like
all
other
children.
“The
ZPHCA
taught
us
about
how
to
advocate
for
our
rights
as
parents
who
stay
with
children
with
disabilities.”
She
said
training
that
after
the
training,
she
was
able
to
access
the
Basic
Education
Assistance
Module
funds
to
enable
her
grandson
to
go
to
school.
“I
want
to
thank
UNICEF
and
the
government
for
ensuring
that
Takudzwa
is
provided
with
materials
for
his
education,”
Chibadza
said.
Martha
Mahachi
from
Zvishavane’s
Ward
10
said
she
could
send
her
14-year-old
daughter
to
school
after
the
ZPHCA’s
advocacy
training.
“Before
the
ZPHCA’s
intervention,
we
used
to
have
challenges
even
taking
the
children
to
the
hospital,
but
they
are
now
being
treated
for
free
after
their
disabilities
were
assessed
by
the
Department
of
Social
Development
Department
of
Social
Development
assessed
their
disabilities,
and
they
are
no
longer
compelled
to
pay
school
fees,”
Mahachi
said.
“I
have
a
stand
at
the
local
flea
market
where
I
used
to
pay
US$1
a
day
to
the council,
but
I
am
now
allowed
to
use
it
for
free
as
a
parent
of
a
child
with
disabilities
after
the
ZPHCA
helped
us
to
advocate
for
an
exemption.”
Changing
lives
Cresencia
Mangoye,
a
ZPHCA
founder
member
from
Harare
but
who
is
doing
voluntary
work
in
Zvishavane,
said
support
from
UNICEF
was
changing
the lives
of
children
with
disabilities
and
that
of
their
caregivers.
“I
am
here,
Zvishavane,
as
a
volunteer
with
Rose
Kamwendoin
Zvishavane.
Our
role
is
to
help
support
groups
with
advocacy,”
Mangoye
said.
“The
support
groups
have
been
very
effective
because
children
have
been
assisted
with
assistive
devices
and
welfare
issues.
“Caregivers
were
also
encouraged
to
organise
themselves
to get
housing
stands,
and
many
people
are
now
on
the
waiting
list.
I
am
very
grateful
to
UNICEF.”
ZPHCA
field
officer
for
Zvishavane Rose
Kamwendo
said
the
advocacy
training
had
made
a
huge
impact,
as
caregivers
and
youths
with
disabilities
were
now
proactive
in
advocating
for
their
rights.
“The
ZPHCA,
with
help
from
UNICEF, training
on
inclusive
parenting,
with
help
from
UNICEF,
has
conducted
training
on
inclusive
parenting,
and
we
are
also
doing
advocacy
to
help
parents
understand
the
rights
of
their
children
and
to
ensure
their
welfare,”
Kamwendo
said.
“On
behalf
of
the
ZPHCA, I
want
to
thank
UNICEF
for
helping
us
train
parents
of
children
with
disabilities
because
most
of
them
now
know
where
to
get
assistance,
whether
in
health,
education
or
their
general
well-being.”
The
programme
has
benefited
366
children
and
adolescents
with
disabilities
who
are
accessing
a
package
of
services
from
government
departments
responsible
for
providing
community-based
services
for
children
with
disabilities
in
the
targeted
districts.
