Living with a disability in Swaziland presents significant challenges. There is a general belief that those who have a disability are bewitched or inflicted by bad spirits. Many believe that being around people with disabilities can bring bad luck. As a result, many people with disabilities are hidden in their homesteads and are not given an opportunity to participate and contribute to society. People with disabilities in Swaziland remain marginalized and vulnerable.
The impact of poverty, HIV/AIDS, and the gender imbalance in society compounds the problems of disability and discrimination. The absence of any comprehensive laws and policies to address people with disabilities’ access to equal opportunities reflect a lack of political will and a failure to recognize disability rights as human rights. The failure by the society to recognize disability as a human right issue contributes to the devaluing and dehumanization of people with disabilities. People with disabilities have the same rights as able bodied and they are entitled to enjoy all citizenry rights.
Affording equal opportunities to people with disabilities will achieve the most important and cherished goals for them. It will result in a maximum degree of autonomy and independence for people with disabilities and the benefit will be for the whole society. The attitude of government and the community of treating disability as a medical condition rather than a reflection of many existing social challenges are limiting the participation of people with disabilities in society. It is worth noting that it is the society and inaccessible environment that makes people disabled rather than their physical being. It is therefore important to address the attitudes of society and the inaccessibility of our physical environment so that the integration of people with disabilities is automatic.
‧
My first encounter with a parent of disabled children made me realize the gap that existed in the market. After a long conversation with her-she opened up to me about the difficulties she faces raising a disabled child in a society that is discriminative an in an environment that is not handicapped friendly. It was the confusion of what the future of his child will be and the lack of know of how on how to raise one that tormented her everyday. I began to make close observation of the situation and in my findings there was no professional facility with fully skilled and trained professionals to look out for people with disability in Swaziland.
This is how the idea of having a facility for children with disability was born i.e to open a facility that will be a home for such children, where they will enjoy rehabilitation services and can identify with others in a similar condition.
Lilita Child Care is a start-up non profit making organization committed to providing a home for children with disability. This facility will serve children from three months to 19 years of age. The centre will be professionally managed by social workers, midwives and with assistance of professional services from the Department of Health who will provide occupational therapy and physiotherapy.
The central mission is to promote the advancement of people with disabilities so as to enable them to attain their maximum level of independence and integration in the community and to prevent the occurrence of physical disablement. This will be achieved by providing daily physical and mental stimulation programmes for the children and moreover teach and support their parents by providing disability sensitisation training programmes.
‧ 國
立 政 治 大 學
‧
N a tio na
l C h engchi U ni ve rs it y
We believe that children with special needs are children first. They have the same needs as all children – Lilita Care Centre is a home for such children. It is a place where they feel physically comfortable, loved and secured with opportunities to play and learn. Children with special needs often are not so different from typically-developing children. They may need more time to learn and practice certain skills. They may need more praise and encouragement to gain the skills typical for their age group and they may need specific adaptations to help them succeed at certain activities.
‧
Swaziland, a small landlocked country in Southern Africa, has the highest HIV prevalence in the world, with 27% of their population living with HIV. HIV and AIDS has continued to play a major role in the declining economy of Swaziland today. Faced with a high HIV prevalence of 39.2 percent among pregnant women, the epidemic is drawing resources from other priority areas, placing the health system under considerable stress, and directly affecting capital accumulation and productivity.
More than 200,000 people are living with HIV out of the country’s population of 1.1 million, and approximately 17,000 children are exposed to HIV infection at birth annually. This has played a significant role in rise in children born with disability.
With more resources in the country being directed towards the HIV/AIDS plight, less (or no) resources have been directed towards providing facilities that will look out for e.g children born and living with disability. Raising a child with a disability is a huge challenge in Swaziland-not only because of lack of facilities to nurture the children and train parents on how to take care of them but also because of the societal and ‘cultural’ stigmatisation that is attached to raising one. Disability is seen as a curse by the gods and this has seen such kids kept away from the society. With parents and guardians having little or zero know-how of caring for such kids they have been left to deteriorate in their homes.
2.1. Supply of Services
Currently there is only one facility in Swaziland that caters for children with disability, however it is located in the outskirts of the country and with lack of competent skill set from care givers and equipments to develop children with disabilities – it has not been the best