Prisoners’ projects will bring freedom to disabled

A group of prisoners serving time at Durban Westville Prison launched a project to atone for their crimes as part of International Day for Disabled Persons yesterday.
The 14 prisoners embarked on the “Free our Innocent” pilot project, under which they would build ramps and create accessible environments for disabled people in Chesterville. The project is a partnership between the Correctional Services Department and the Quad Para Association of SA (QASA). “Chesterville is a densely populated and impoverished township. There are many people with mobility impairments” said Nokuthula Zikhali of Correctional Services. She said those in wheelchairs were prisoners in their homes.” They have no ramps allowing them outside their homes and none of the infrastructure or community facilities, including sidewalks and municipal buildings are accessible” she said.

Five homes in Chesterville have already benefited from the project, which is to be rolled out to the rest of the province and country. QASA regional director Cedrick Hedgecock said some people who had been paralysed have been stuck in their homes for many years. “This is a most wonderful. There are a number of people trapped in their homes. I have seen one man wheeled out of his house after two years- it’s heartbreaking. Unless someone strong can carry them out of their homes, they literally become prisoners in their homes”

Entabeni Hospital Rehabilitation Unit celebrated the International Day for Disabled Persons yesterday by inviting former and current patients to a day of entertainment provided by twins Fiona and Naomi Radford, who live animal shows. Daniel Baijnath, an employee of the hospital who uses a wheelchair after he was shot during a hijacking eight years ago, gave encouragement to patients saying they should make best of life. “Life changed for the worst but I learnt to make the most of it and now I am a very independent person and I can drive. At the end of the day, life goes on and you have to make the best of it, no matter what the situation.”

The Insurance Education Sector and Training Authority (Inseta) held the first National Disability Awards in Joburg yesterday. The awards were aimed at honoring and raising the profile of workers with disabilities who are making a difference in the Insurance sector. Inseta CEO Sharon Snell said “We want these awards to be a celebratory affair, but we also want to raise awareness of how incredibly able many so called disabled people truly are. “We need to start raising our expectations of them as so often is our perceptions, not their disabilities, that continue to hold them back.