“Let me tell you a personal story. I was born in a family where we had a sister who had a disability. My elder sister could not walk. In those days, if you had a disability, you were seriously marginalised. Some people in my village kept whispering that my parents had done something wrong to bear a girl who could not walk. My brother and I, Bingu and I, kept fighting boys who kept teasing us for having with a disability. I know what it means to grow up with disability.

And as some of you, I have a grandson who has autism. Some of you have seen him. He can’t talk, and he will never talk. When I meet him, sometimes it takes him a week to remember me. So, I know what means to live with disability.” , Peter Mutharika
Thyolo, December 5: President Peter Mutharika on Saturday reaffirmed his government’s commitment to promoting and respecting rights of persons with disabilities.
Speaking in Luchenza, Thyolo during this year’s International Day of People with disabilities, Mutharika said protecting and respecting rights of persons with disabilities was a prerequisite in the attainment of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

He said the SDGs could not be realised if other citizens, such as those with physical and intellectual disabilities, were sidelined in the development agenda. Continue reading Malawi President Mutharika gets Personal, urges Malawians to respect rights of persons with disabilities →