Government tasked to create equal opportunities for Pwds

KAMPALA. Joan Kwizera, 28 and Fanta Rukundo, 30, are deaf but work as attendants at Mega supermarket.
When you meet them, you can’t help but appreciate their warm reception manifested by their big smiles. The confidence they exude while going about their duties, leaves one amazed.
Through their interpreter, the fairly tall brown ladies share how they sailed through murky waters to get employed despite being deaf.

Having completed their Primary school at Ntinda School of the Deaf, they went to a Kenyan institute to acquire vocational skills, and upon return, just like any prospective graduate, they hit Kampala streets to look for jobs to sustain them.
Luckily for them, they were admitted at Mega Standard Supermarket to work as attendants, a job which requires them to either attend to clients or do other errands in the supermarket.

“I just applied and when I was called for interviews, my employer was convinced about my ability to execute. During the first tests, they realized that I could manage because I was doing whatever assignment they gave me, with passion. Before I knew it, I was confirmed,” the Jolly Kwizera recounts.
She’s happy that despite being disabled, their boss has been so instrumental in training them and supporting them where necessary.

However, her only worry is that although there are few people like her boss who could accommodate a disabled person, majority of people still have a bad attitude towards People with Disabilities (Pwds).

“For instance, there are many jobs in government but people like us are rarely considered yet we have what it takes. Some of our colleagues have even gone as far as University education, but they are discriminated whenever there is a job opportunity yet we are all Ugandans,” she says.

To Ms Kwizera, government must create equal opportunities for all people irrespective of other ability, adding that whenever they are discriminated, they become demoralized.
Through their interpreter, Ms Rukundo says that when a child is born, it’s not their wish to become disabled, but rather God’s plan.

She believes that if employers appreciate the fact that Pwds aren’t disabled mentally, their life can never be the same.
“Before I started working here, I had tried many places but employers turned down my request. I quickly wondered why government hasn’t ensured that policies of pwds at work places are implemented to create equal opportunities for all people.
I feel that employers haven’t been fully sensitized and this is the stigma which hurts most of us,” she says.

At the supermarket, they say that they are equally treated with their fellow workers by the employer, something they say, gives them a new lease of life unlike their colleagues who are discriminated.
According to statistics from the 2014 population census, there are 12.4 percent of Uganda’s population living with disabilities.

It’s against this background that an initiative dubbed Make 12.4 percent work, been established to advocate for the rights of the disabled.

The initiative looks at triggering the private, public and development sector to open up employment opportunities and livelihoods programs to persons with disabilities.

It also brings together key stakeholders to create enabling conditions for inclusive economic growth, and allowing persons with disabilities to fully access the job market in line with government laws and policies, the SDGs, and the UN Convention on the rights of Pwds.

Anneke Maarse, the disability inclusion director for light the world Netherlands, the brain behind the Make 12.4 percent work initiative work, says that they aim at changing negative attitudes that staff of different workplaces and organizations may have about disability, by showing positive examples of inclusion and providing assistance where it is needed.

“The initiative started out with the first 12 businesses and mainstream organisations in Uganda who believe that disability is not inability. Through employing people with disability or including them in their mainstream livelihood programs, they have become ambassadors of the initiative to inspire other employers and organisations to take up the same spirit,” she says.

Through such efforts, Ms Anneka notes that it creates a multiplier effect where more companies, ministries and organisations join the initiative to advocate for the rights of Pwds.

Edson Ngirabakunzi, the Executive Director of the National Union of the Disabled in Uganda (Nudipu) says that the major challenge has been the poor working environment for Pwds, where he says that many policies have remained on paper.
“There is still a negative attitude towards Pwds where accessing the labour market information is still a challenge to them. For instance, if you run an advert on Television, those who are blind can’t see it. These are the issues we must confront to ensure equality,” he says.

Mr Ngirabakunzi also faults government on failing to elevate the status of Pwds yet they also contribute to growth of the economy by paying taxes.
However, Michael Miiro, a principal labour officer at the Ministry of Gender, challenges his fellow Pwds to become aggressive as far as exploiting job opportunities is concerned.

He says that some Pwds are shy to confront the reality by trying their luck whenever there is a job advert, saying that this keeps them lagging behind.
Although he acknowledges the fact that there is stigma against Pwds, he believes that this vice can be broken if at all Pwds prove their worth.

“I believe in myself and I don’t look at disability as an excuse to stop me from pursuing my dream. When you confront me, I teach you about disability and how you must treat me just like any other person,” he says.
He urges government to break the barrier of the negative attitude which some people have against Pwds, saying that this will make equal opportunities possible.
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