By Colette Musanyera
The need to empower people living with disabilities to function independently was brought to the fore during the handover of wheelchairs to individuals drawn from the country’s 10 provinces through the Commander AFZ Charity Fund at the Airforce Headquarters in Harare this Wednesday.
Upon receiving the wheelchairs, the beneficiaries highlighted that the assistive devices will ease their plight.
“We are grateful for the gesture. It will make my life easier as a caregiver,” a beneficiary said.
“My child has cerebral palsy and she can’t function independently so this will ease our plight. The wheelchair will also enable her to attend school,” said another.
Commander Air Force of Zimbabwe and patron of the Commander AFZ Charity Fund, Air Marshal Elson Moyo highlighted the need to empower people with disabilities for them to realise their full potential and contribute to the country’s development.
“As we approach the end of the year, it’s time to reflect on our blessings and remember the less privileged. Today we are gathered to respond to the plight of the physically challenged in our communities. The country has 1,5 million people with disabilities and most of these don’t have assistive devices to help them function independently,” he said.
“Let’s help empower them to realise their full potential so that they can also contribute to the country’s development. Today we have a sample of three individuals from three of the country’s 10 provinces but the initiative will see all provinces benefitting.”
The initiative will see a total of 10 individuals from all the country’s 10 provinces benefitting.
The Commander AFZ Charity Fund rolled out similar programmes in 2018 and 2019, before the project was halted by the COVID-19-induced lockdowns between 2020 and 2021.
