17 Nov 2014

Maun Thuso Rehabilitation Centre recently hosted a graduation ceremony for its children who managed to successfully complete their two-year studies themed ‘Break barriers, open doors for an inclusive society and development for all’.

Speaking during the ceremony, Mr Oatlang Setlhodi, the Botswana National Youth Council Vice Chairperson, said activities like the graduation for people with disabilities provided an opportunity to further raise awareness and accessibility as cross cutting development issues.

Mr Setlhodi said that would further the global efforts to promote accessibility, remove all types of barriers and to realise the full and equal participation of people with disabilities in society and shape the future of development for all.

He said the world over people with disabilities faced physical, social, economic and attitudinal barriers that excluded them from participating fully and effectively as equal members of society.

“They are disproportionately represented among the world’s poorest and the lack of equal access to basic resources such as education, employment, health care, social and legal support systems; they also have a higher rate of mortality,” said Mr Setlhodi.

He said disability had remained largely invisible in the mainstream development agenda and its process.

Consequently, he said through human rights approaches, the public must be encouraged to at least hold forums, public discussions and information campaigns to help find innovative ways and means by which people with disabilities and their families could be further integrated into their societies and development plans.

“Institutions like Thuso Rehabilitation Centre contribute to breaking barriers through different modalities such as vocational training, different therapies, orthopedic engineering and community based rehabilitation,” said Setlhodi.

In addition, he noted that Thuso on its own could not achieve the inclusive development approach; hence  encouraged the private, public sectors, and communities to take an active role to break barriers and offer opportunities.

Mr Moses Kandovazu, the Executive Director of Thuso Rehabilitation Centre said, as a centre they were doing all they could to train and equip the disabled people in order to be useful to the society they live in.

Mr Kandovazu also said they had day-to-day challenges of lack of classrooms and hostel facilities for students and a ready market for students when they graduate.

He said they accommodated different students with different disabilities, which means that they needed more facilities suitable for students.He said their centre managed to graduate 27 students from different fields including agriculture, dress making, sheltered training, weaving and leather works.

Mr Kandovazu encouraged graduates to go out into the society and show the world what they are capable of, adding that they must not regard themselves as different from others but work collectively together with the society. ENDS