Disability inclusion in council service delivery moves closer as………….

NASCOH is invited to Town Clerks Forum

Disability inclusion in the service delivery activities of local authorities in Zimbabwe moved several notches towards becoming a reality with the invitation by the Town Clerks Forum Secretary, and Town Clerk of Kariba, George Makunde, to the Town Clerks’ forum which will be held in Kariba on 17-18 May this year.

Impressed by NASCOH’s articulation of disability inclusion strategies in the programmes of local councils in Zimbabwe, Mr Makunde felt that NASCOH’s programme would gain added momentum if the issues were to be discussed before a wider forum of influential local authorities.  Acting in his capacity as Forum Secretary of the Town Clerks’ Forum, he invited NASCOH to the Forum, and to give a presentation on the topic: “A compelling need for disability inclusion within local authorities in Zimbabwe.” » Read more: NASCOH is invited to Town Clerks Forum

APPEAL FOR ASSISTANCE

In the wake of scores of deaths among people living with epilepsy countrywide due to lack of access to required drug therapies recorded by the Epilepsy Support Foundation (ESF),  the National Association of Societies for the Care of the Handicapped (NASCOH) would like to bring to the attention of the public the critically low levels of epilepsy rehabilitation drugs at the Epilepsy Support Foundation, the only humanitarian institution in Zimbabwe that caters for the rehabilitation needs of approximately 500 000 persons with epilepsy in the country.

The centre, which is down to its last monthly supply of epilepsy drug therapies,   desperately needs an urgent infusion of 180 000 phenobarbitone tablets and 45 000 carbamazapine tablets each month to cater for the rehabilitation requirements of 1 500 children in rural Zimbabwe, who are bearing the full brunt of the drug shortages.  Already, most of the children with epilepsy of school-going age have been forced to discontinue their education, while for others, their school attendance has now been rendered erratic due to non-availability of the drugs. » Read more: STATEMENT BY NASCOH ON THE CRITICALLY LOW LEVELS OF EPILEPSY REHABILITATION DRUGS AT EPILEPSY SUPPORT FOUNDATION

Councilor Lamel Mandiziva (61), who is a special interest councilor for disability in Gweru Town council, is a trail blazer in the history of representation of people with disabilities in local authorities.  Mandiziva, who was appointed special interest councilor for people with disabilities in 2009, has a mid-thigh amputation above the knee after being run over by a train in 1989.

Undaunted by the shattering impact of the accident, and fully convinced that disability was not inability, Mandiziva picked up the tattered threads of his life and became a proponent of disability inclusion.   When the opportunity presented itself to advance the cause of disability in an official capacity as special interest councilor on disability, Mandiziva grasped the opportunity with both hands, and has not looked back ever since.  Councilor Mandiziva is grateful to Joshua Malinga, former Senator and Mayor of Bulawayo, who told him of amendments to the Urban Councils Act that now made possible the appointment of special interest councilors. » Read more: Councilor Mandiziva – trailblazer in disability special interest representation