POWER OF PURPLE
It’s the colour of acceptance for disabled kids
● Desley Ngomane’s childhood was spent confined to her cramped home in Orange Farm, Gauteng, where she was shut away by a mother who lived in fear of the community because her daughter was disabled.
The 17-year-old, who has cerebral palsy, lived her “cursed” life in secret.
“People would say horrible things — that she was cursed and had been bewitched. They didn’t understand what was wrong with her and would run away from her,” said her mother, Elina Chauque.
But a life of shame and fear for Ngomane and many other disabled children in the Gauteng township changed with a stroke of purple paint.
In an initiative driven by NGO Afrika Tikkun to challenge the social stigma of mental and physical disabilities, the homes of disabled children in the township are painted bright purple, giving their parents a chance to alter the perceptions of a community that has long held them at arm’s length.
Three years into the campaign, 75 homes in the township have been painted purple.
For Chauque and her daughter, a mural of whom adorns the front wall of their home, the mindset of their neighbours has begun to shift.
“It was hard at first, the people around me didn’t understand what was wrong with her. Also, because she can’t control the way she salivates, people were scared of her and would run away when she came towards them,” she said.
“Since we made the house purple, people often mistake it for a crèche so they come and ask me about it and I can tell them about Desley.”
According to 2016 research by the African Child Policy Forum, disabled children are among the most neglected groups in society, with most facing “enormous economic, political and social barriers”.
“Many of them do not have access to the most basic needs, such as health services and education, and experience multiple deprivations even within their family,” says the report.
Gloria Makhalima lives with her mentally-disabled son, Khaya, and knows how it feels to be excluded from her community.
Khaya, 41, suffered brain damage in a traumatic birth.
“People would call him names in the street. They’d call him crazy and he would come home and ask me what that means. It made my heart sore,” said Makhalima, tears welling in her eyes.
Last year she painted her house purple, making it a beacon for acceptance.
“All Khaya knows is love, he is my boy. I just want him to be accepted and this paint helps me start the conversation and tell people about my son,” Makhalima said.
Afrika Tikkun’s Dr Jean Elphick said the organisation had found that children with disabilities faced myriad problems.
“Six out of 10 children were staying at home and not going to school,” she told the Sunday Times.
“Discrimination and prejudice were common, and, in many cases, men would abandon the mothers and children.”
The women of Orange Farm formed an empowerment group called Sidinga Uthando, which means “we need love”.
The caregivers in the group identified a need for social change and inclusion, and painting houses purple gave parents a way to make their neighbours and community more conscious of the issue.
“We paint the children’s homes and write their names and the type of disability on the wall so if people ask what is happening there, the parents have a chance to explain and teach their neighbours about the children,” said Elphick.
Shannon O’Keefe, of disability advocacy group the Sunshine Association, said the ostracism of children with disabilities is common.
“There is still the thought that the mother and even the child with disabilities has been cursed, or there has been witchcraft because of differences or disputes within the family. The mother is often blamed as if she did something wrong,” she said.
O’Keefe said that education, through initiatives like the purple paint campaign, is desperately needed.
“Communities should start the dialogue about disability because knowledge is power, and we will be able to reduce the stigma through accepting and supporting persons with disabilities without being judgmental.”