LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The World Vision Malawi has embarked “Able to Thrive” project targeting over 10,000 children with disabilities.
World Vision Malawi’s Director of Operations Charles Chimombo told the media briefing during the sideline of the Global Disability Forum underway in the capital Lilongwe that in phase one of the project about 2,566 children and youth with disabilities in Malawi’s five are receiving different support.
“Globally, the project seeks to improve the lives of 60,000 children with disabilities, including 10,000 children in Malawi. I report here that in phase one of the project, we have reached 2,566 children of which 1,121 are girls.
“We are supporting these children in collaboration with our service partners such as MAP, SandiThandiza, BeitCure, ABC, and many more,” lauds Chimombo.
He therefore stated that the week long Global Disability Forum forum represents World Vision commitment to ensuring every child, regardless of ability, has the opportunity to thrive and achieve their full potential.
In her remarks, Minister of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare, Jean Sendeza said government is fully committed to ensuring that persons with disabilities are respected, valued, and able to participate fully in all aspects of life.
“As a country, as government, we have a law in place that speaks on the persons with disabilities. The bill was passed in just this year, and it was assented to by the President, but having the the law in place is just on paper, but what would want to see is implementation of what is in the act.
“So, this forum will help us as a country to learn from other countries what they are doing in regards to issues pertaining to persons with a disability,” said Sendeza.
The minister therefore challenged public, private sector and the community to change their mindset to involve people with disabilities at every stage of planning to achieve a meaningful inclusion.
She observed further that people living with disabilities continue to face significant significant challenges in their daily lives due to their continued exclusion in matters of national development.
“It is important to recognize that the impact of exclusion of persons with disabilities does not only affect their living conditions but also cost national development,” says Sendeza.
Global Disability Forum which Malawi is hosting at Bingu International Convention Centre (BICC) in Lilongwe runs from July 15 to 19, 2024.
The forum has attracted participants from over 10 countries globally including Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, United States of America (USA) and New Zealand among others.
The gathering aims at sharing knowledge on inclusive education, enhancing case management for disabilities, and empowering marginalized groups.
The forum is expected to build stronger networks, share valuable insights, and promote collaboration among government agencies, non-governmental organizations, donors and private sector partners.