Education the biggest challenge facing disabled

PARENTS of children living with disabilities in the Eastern Cape highlighted access to education as one of the biggest challenges they face. Some resort to home-schooling their children. Yesterday, Roads and Public Works MEC Thandiswa Marawu marked Disability Rights Awareness Month by handing out wheelchairs and crutches to 49 people with disabilities in Barkly East.

Angelina Matiwane, who received a wheelchair on behalf of her nine-year-old grandson, said many obstacles still stood in the way of them living full lives, but the biggest challenge was finding a good special needs school

“When he was seven, we sent him to a highly recommended special school but every time I went to visit my heart would break because the ill-treatment and abuse was visible,” Matiwane said.

“I have since been teaching him how to read and write.”

She said mainstream school teachers were not given the training they needed and were ill-prepared to support children with a disability.

Nosakhele Mthembu lives with her three-year-old grandson, Reatile Kgotsi, who was born with Down’s syndrome. He cannot walk or sit.

Mthembu said Reatile qualified for a disability grant but she had been waiting for seven months with no payout.

In October, it was reported that disabled pupils from Ikhwezi Lokusa Special School were protesting against the infringement of their rights, saying they were tired of being ill-treated by teachers and caregivers at the school.

Marawu said it was important to support access to education for disabled pupils.

“It is important that we focus on the ability and not on the disability of an individual and we will report this to the MEC of education.”

Another challenge facing these families was a lack of proper housing, with many still living in shacks and unable to access social grants.

“Disability is a societal problem and this campaign seeks to accelerate equal access to socio-economic opportunities,” Marawu said.