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Think about us, the disabled plead
2007-08-12 10:38:18
By Peter Mwangu
A profusely sweating cripple, Zuberi Mhando, crawls painfully on the stairs leading to the third floor office of the Ilala Municipal Director in Dar es Salaam.
Similarly fated is James Hiza, who had teamed up with Mhando, on a mission to petition the civic official on the plight of the physically disadvantaged.
The duo complained that many public utilities lacked facilities to cater for their like.
`Look at me! I am sweating all over as a result of climbing these stairs. If there was a consideration about our state, this would not have happened.
Please do not punish us for our disabilities,` remarked the near-tearful Mhando Hiza chipped in: `What you see here is common to many public buildings.
Sometimes I have to crawl on dirty floors of public toilets if I want to relieve myself, risking my health.`
The two men are suggesting that in the absence of facilities for the disabled, special attendants should be employed to work in public buildings to help the needy, adding that such facilities should also be considered in public transport.
They are asking the authorities to subsidize the prices of equipment most sought by people with disabilities, citing locally manufactured tricycles which sell at the prohibitive 200,000/- each, to disabled.
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