WHITE RIVER – Parents of children living with disabilities are calling on government to come up with programmes to equip their kids.
At a Dyslexia Awareness Workshop held in Hillsview Community Hall over the weekend, parents said they were excluded from government programmes. The workshop was aimed at raising awareness on dyslexia which is an invisible disability, characterised by a difficulty to read and write.
Children suffering from this condition are intelligent, but are unable to put their thoughts on paper. They become tired easily and lack concentration.
Most of the parents who attended the workshop said they were unhappy about how persons with disabilities were neglected. Some said they had been on waiting lists at the few inclusive schools around Mbombela for a long time. Others mentioned how their kids were discriminated against.
“My nine-year-old son can’t read and write and he is deaf. He is in grade three after being excluded from previous classes. I tried to apply at KaMagugu Inclusive School but have been on the waiting list for three years now,” says Mr Petrus Mashele.
Ms Ncobile Khoza, a mother of two dyslexic daughters, revealed her painful story. “My first child was born like this and the second is the result on a car accident. What pains the most is that she never received a cent from that accident.
“What will happen to my children if I die? I have been up and down with them to different schools for the disabled in Tzaneen, Swaziland and they can’t help them because they cannot read or write.”
Khoza added that government needs to amend its employment requirements for the disabled. “We are always told that government employs people with disabilities.However, it requires of them to have matriculated.
“My children don’t have grade
12 and will never have it. What
will happen to them?”
Her sentiments were echoed by many of the guests with some even suggesting that the neglect of invisible disabilities might be the reason why the country has so many school drop-outs and unemployed youth.
Ms Bongiwe Malupi, the national treasurer of the Disabled Persons of South Africa (DPSA) said, “There is still a need for government to address issues faced by people living with disabilities.
Our government still struggles to employ two per cent of disabled people. Several facilities are still not accessible to them. Awareness for disabled persons should be held throughout the year, and not only during disability month.
“We will fight this battle until government hears our cry and creates programmes to assist those who cannot read and write,” says Ms Khensani Gibello and her colleague.
Mr Timothy Mashego, who founded the Youth Born Genius non-profit organisation. It aims to establish a database of the number of children living with this condition in the province, so that they can urge government to consider them in terms of skills development and crafts.
Mr Du Toit Nkambule from the Department of Social Development, responsible for the rights of disabled persons and their mainstreaming in the department, urged parents to check on the well-being of their children when they are still young.
“It is important to detect if there are any problems at an early age so that doctors and specialists can help,” he said. He also urged parents to talk about their children’s condition to principals so that special attention may be given to them.
Nkambule said that as part of disability month celebrations from November 1 to December 3, 35 awareness programmes had been scheduled in various parts of the province. He added that during the awareness month, government took services to the disabled and they were given platforms to showcase their handiwork.
Ligwalagwala FM’s radio presenter, Ms Linda Malupi, affectionately known as Mancane, urged disabled people to fight for their right to education.
“I did my matric from my wheelchair because my school was no longer accessible to me after I was involved in an accident that left me wheelchair-bound.
The Department of Education must see to it that technology and other applications are user-friendly for everyone.”
Also read: Workshop to empower the dyslexic
