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By Marlvin Ngiza
People with disabilities (PWDs) have been challenged to be resolute in claiming socio-economic participation in various spheres of life and move away from a culture of relying on handouts and the benevolence of able-bodied individuals.
Moses Marufu, a farmer with walking challenges has called upon other people with disabilities to rise and claim their rights and opportunities towards improving their welfare.
“All I can say to people with disabilities is, let us get out of our cocoons and claim socio-economic participation. Let us not be crybabies. Rather, let us take action. We do not need a charity model approach but full socio-economic empowerment,” said Marufu.
He urged his fellow colleagues to embrace and utilize all opportunities on all government-initiated projects.
“Backed by the Disability Policy, people with disabilities should take advantage of this recognition by the government. Let’s grab all opportunities on all government-initiated programs and stop politicizing government programs,” added Marufu.
The budding farmer stressed the need for enhanced disability policy formulation. He also encouraged families to be supportive of children with disabilities.
“Our representatives need to keep on formulating strong laws and policies for people with disabilities like the already existing Disability Policy.
“I am happy that I was one of the people who participated in the consultations to the Disability Policy inputs.
“I, therefore, encourage families to strongly support the disabled children as enshrined in this policy. There is no family without a child with a disability,” he said.
However, the farmer highlighted some of the obstacles in his operations which include transport and inputs.
“As someone who uses a wheelchair, one of my challenges is lack of personal convenient transport which can smoothly allow me to move from one place to another.
“I also face input challenges, power cuts at crucial stages, and labour turnover which at times affect my irrigation patterns,” said Marufu.
Marufu is a beneficiary of the land reform program operating from Chivi, Masvingo province. He ventured into farming in 2001 on a 6-hectare plot and graduated to a 10-hectare self-contained plot under irrigation in 2006 where he is growing crops such as maize, wheat, and beans.
