JANEROSE ADOLF MWASHAMBWA

JANEROSE ADOLF MWASHAMBWA, 50 years, a teacher of children with disabilities and a mother of a child with an intelectual disability

My name is teacher Janerose Adolf Mwashambwa, my age is 50 years old. In 1994 I started to teach as a volunteer and in 1997 I joined Patandi College for studying special education. My first- born  child is disabled and this is what influenced me to join this college so that I can be able to assist my child.

My child's name is Irene H. Mbaga. She was born without any disability but at the age of five years she got a high fever and fell unconscious for 3 days and when she got up she could not do anything. Before this event she was in nursery school and she was able to write numbers 1-10 and vowels but after she recovered from her disease she could not do anything – not count nor write.

After my studies I went back to the medical doctor and now believe that there is nothing that can be done to improve her disability. Before studying special education I used to send my daughter to different religious congresses hoping that she will be healed and become normal again. The biggest challenge for parents is to accept that their child is disabled. You find that some of the parents shift their children from one sick station to another hoping she or he might be cured and become normal. They don’t know that disabled children learn slowly and some may recover and others may not. Parents have little understanding about disability and how to take care of  a disabled child so they need to be educated.

Only few intelectually disabled children know their expectations. When you ask them what is their ambition they will tell you I want to marry or say anything that they heard people talking about. The children’s expectations are created by both parents and teachers. Once we discover the talents and abilities of a child we train its parents on how they can continue to develop them so that the child might be able to contribute to the community.

I am not familiar with the law and rights of people with disabilites but what I know is the policy which indicates that all children, regardless of their disability or color, should go to school when they reach seven years old. Unfortunately, this policy is only implemented in urban areas and not in rural areas. I did not do research about this but this is what is happening because many schools for children with disabilities are located in urban areas.

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We have launched our Platform

Dear all,

today was the big day when our Information Platform was officially introduced to the disabled community in Tanzania!

Commissioner for Social Welfare, Mr. Makala, and ICD Director, Mr. Mkatambo, launching the Platform 

We met in Wonder Workshop in Dar es Salaam, inspired by the beautiful products their disabled workers create out of waste materials. There was singing by the lovely Miriam and it was our Guest of Honour, Commissioner for Social Welfare, Mr. Dunford Makala, who had the honours to cut through the blue tape. Mr. Tuma Dandi shared his life story with us and everyone could browse through our new book, My life/Maisha Yangu, where we collected many more such stories. From today on, contact ICD to get your copy of the book!

Mr. Dandi sharing his life story

Let me invite you again to contribute to this blog. Send us information you want to publish, whether some important resources or news about an upcoming event - it is only by being used by people with disabilities that this platform can fulfill its purpose! WELCOME!

The newly published book My life/Maisha Yangu

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MAGDALENA KOMBA

Magdalena Komba, 30 years, mother of 3 children, working at  Wonder Workshop, physical disability

My name is Magdalena Komba, mother of 3 children. I am disabled from birth and using an artificial leg to support me. I studied up to Standard Seven, then I involved myself in agriculture and knitting activities before I came to work in Wonder Welders. I had to do so because I am the one who provides school fees for my children and taking care of them.

I have accepted the way I am - even when I was at school my school mates did not discriminate me or laugh at me.

I am not so happy with the life I have, I cannot deny it, it is because I spend a lot of money on buying and repairing my artificial leg. These costs used to be low, but these days they can reach up to Tshs 1,200,000/=. I wish the Government would eliminate the VAT on assistive devices that we disabled people we are buying, to make our lives more affordable.

I had the dream of having my own house but till now the dream is not yet fulfilled, because such a big part of my income is used for repairing and buying the artificial leg.

The community should accept us the way we are and they should keep in mind that we are the same as they are. We also have needs and wish for a good life like the others have.

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AZIZA S. MKUMBO

AZIZA S. MKUMBO, 56 years, married with three children, teacher, physical disability

I was born in 1956 in Mwando Village, Iramba district in Singida. My disability is not inborn, my mother told me that I was 6 months old when she noticed that one of my legs was not functioning. They took me to the hospital and the leg was dressed with P.O.P, but instead of getting better my leg skin got damaged and its flesh started to drop off.

My mother escaped from hospital and took me to traditional healer where I kept on getting treatment and I started walking when I was five years old, but the leg was not normal. 

At school I was not comfortable because fellow students used to call me “sunku”, which means someone who walks by hopping. They also hated me so much because despite of my disability I was the best student. But the headteacher  did not discriminate me and when I was in standard four I was appointed to take care of his office, where I was responsible for managing the stationery for the students.

In my entire life I have never being hurt so much like on the day when we were filling the forms for selecting secondary schools. The teacher gave me a form and insisted that I should not turn it around, but I did, out of curiosity. I found out that he commented that “she is not fit for secondary education”. Eventually I did not join any secondary school and the rumor was that my name was among the selected ones, but that the position was given to another student in the school.  A few days later my cousin brought for me forms for teachers’ trainings which I filled in and succeeded to join Mandara Teachers College in 1977.

I successfully finished my college studies and later got employed and married to a man who is very understanding and supportive. He encourages me to overcome the challenges of disability and this keeps me going; our marriage is blessed with three children.

My dream was to become a nurse. Unfortunately I could not attain it, however I am somehow comfortable with my teaching job.

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