Activities
To achieve its objectives, Voice of Disability will focus on the following main activities.
Mobilization Campaign
The first and on-going activity is a mobilization campaign using all social media platforms. Disabled women are grossly under-represented in the various sectors and organizations in society, but in women’s groups in particular. It is therefore imperative to create a unique E-platform where disabled women can make themselves heard.
Education & SkillsTraining
Educating disabled women in socio-economic matters leads to their empowerment, which in turn gives them confidence to advocate and lobby for, and claim their human rights. Members teach and mentor each other through a process of skills sharing. This sharing is in the form of short courses offered both face-to-face as well as virtually. They also give each other peer support by sharing their experiences and successes using social media.
Disability Awareness Training
Disability Awareness training provides basic information to promote an understanding of disability issues, and to encourage the learner to create an enabling environment wherever they are. It presents information about what a disability is and what it is not. It also presents alternatives to unacceptable language and labelling of disabled people. It leads the learner to understand what disabling barriers to inclusion and participation are, and how to remove them. Coupled with this, the learner receives current information on legislation, which explains the reason why all people should all be part of the solution to the integration of disabled people.
Personal Assistance Services Training
Personal assistance services is a service used by disabled people that enables them to live independently by choosing what to do, when to do it, how to do it and with whom. Without this enabling service it is near impossible for disabled women in particular, to participate in society. At present, personal assistance services is non-existent in South Africa, which means that disabled women have very little or no choice as to how they live their lives. To close this gap, non-disabled women are trained as personal assistants to enable disabled people to participate in society in a meaningful way. This programme will serve as a job creator as well as a service to disabled people.