The plight of people with disabilities is a mirror reflecting the shortcomings of society. The prejudice and discrimination that they suffer is the product of the more general human tendency to label as inferior, those who are somehow different.

Located in southern Africa, Zimbabwe is home to 12 million people.  Unknown to the rest of the world, the last census, in 2002, estimated that 2.9 percent of Zimbabweans were disabled. But what had not been properly documented were the actual living conditions of those with disabilities.

Now, a new study by the Southern Africa Federation of the Disabled (SAFOD), in collaboration with the Norwegian Federation of Disabled People, has shed light on their daily lives.

The report, "Living Conditions Among People with Activity Limitations in Zimbabwe, a Representative Regional Survey" sampled 22,000 people in five of the country's 10 provinces, and found the disabled were deeply disadvantaged in terms of access to education, employment and state support

Only one out of every eight respondents was receiving financial assistance. Disability and social support grants only amounted to about Zim $15,000 (US $3.75) a month, while a loaf of bread cost Zim $2,300. 

The study results illustrate the fact that children with disabilities are clearly at a disadvantage in terms of access to education. Furthermore, and perhaps not unexpectedly, they are further disadvantaged when their disability is compounded by poverty.    

In Zimbabwe, 52 per cent of disabled children get no education at all.

their future?

In Zimbabwe, less than 1 per cent of disabled people contribute actively to the economy, In the UK and USA, 67 per cent of disabled people are unemployed.

is there any hope?

Of Africa's 50 million disabled people, nearly all have been disabled by the conditions in which they live. Of these 50% are women."