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Challenges of intellectual disabilities

Metasebia Teshome
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Challenges of intellectual disabilities

Since the outbreak of the corona pandemic in Ethiopia most nongovernmental organization are facing financial challenges. Fikir Ethiopia National Association on Intellectual Disabilities is one of the NGOs working on intellectual disabilities. The association was established some 25 years ago by 89 parents of intellectually disabiled children. Mihret Nigussei is board chairperson of the association. Mihret started to work at the association after her immediate younger brother was born with intellectual disabilities. She started to work at Fikir Ethiopia as a volunteer and climbing up to become president of the association. Mihret says the association is facing challenges because in the last 25 years they were focusing on their work rather than promotion. Mihret said that the association is facing difficulty in the current situation and needs immediate help. Excerpts;

Capital: Can you tell us about Fikir Ethiopia National Association on Intellectual Disability?
Mihret Nigussei: Fikir Ethiopia was established 25 years ago by parents of intellectual disabilities. At the time there was no center for intellectually disable children except Mekane Eyesus church and Kokeb Atsebeha schools. Even those who got the chance to get in were obliged to leave after they reach their 18th birthday, they were not able to get the chance like other children to get enrolled in high schools and universities or technical and vocational schools. So after they turn 18 they are forced to stay home and this always make them face social, psychological and economical challenges. For example sexual harassment, an unexpected pregnancy, isolation from society and moreover some will be hidden by their parents in their home which results in additional distress.
These things causes social crises, which led parents to establish this association as a solution for their children to interact and communicate with each other and with others.
More than 80 percent of our members are women. Mostly when this kind of children came to the family most families collapse and single mothers will be forced to stay with their children that caused them to face financial challenge to help the children.

Capital: How many centers do you have and how many children are you helping now?
Mihret: More than 3 percent of the world population is intellectually disabled which is around 200 million and from these numbers around 80 percent are expected to live in under developed countries like ours. So around 3 to 4 million intellectual disabilities are expected to live in our countries.
Even if our association was founded in Addis Ababa we have been trying to see other parts of the country. We understand that there are millions of intellectually disabled people living in our country and in a serious condition.
We have been working in 17 cities of five regions; we called for parents to work for their child and we try to bring them together and give different kind of support and assure their participation and beneficiary. In Addis Ababa we have two centers one found around the so called ‘Ferencay Legasion’ which is for kids bellow 18 years and the other found around ‘ Megenagna 22’ it is for adults above 18 years. In this center more than 90 intellectually disabled people came on a daily basis they are between 18-45 years old.

Capital: How are you treating them, is it easy to train adults above 18 with intellectual disability?
Mihret: It is very difficult; we find children isolated for a long time and sometimes they even cannot walk properly and speak, they don’t know how to communicate with others so they may disturb others. But there is one thing, they always think that everyone loves them and care for them and the good quality we have in our association is love. Since they came to us we always show them love and we will try to communicate with them.
Parents bring their children daily and we give them different kinds of trainings based on their potential.
And there is a peer influence, most of our staff are experienced and have been working for a long time with us so they know how to treat them based on their status.
We always try to make them think everyone has accepted them. Before we start the education we try to show them discipline and the system of the society.
Sometimes we get some children who don’t want to get training, but we try different methods to teach them.

Capital: Where does the association get financial supports to its activities?
Mihret: We get an annual support from the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs since we are an association under the Ministry; however it is not enough to cover all our expenses so we always look and contact with individuals, companies, and stakeholders. For example if you see Fresh Corner have been with us for a long time by providing the children’s lunch; and Dibora Foundation is also helping us in different things. But it is not enough to fulfill their need. We know we cannot address all their problems.

Capital: What are the main challenges you are facing?
Mihret: In its 25 years of operation the association passed through several difficult times. It was very difficult to find a place, many people don’t want to rent their place for such kind of kids. The other is you cannot easily find schools, special need schools. Now it is improved for the kids but difficult for the adults.
The other challenge is the society has very low acceptance for the kids, government policies and strategies are not inclusive of these kids.
The first thing we take as our success is what we do is on schools, we have created a way to our kids to get education like other kids, we have been working with the government and have made an impact on increasing special needs education in more than 20 governmental schools. When parents came with their kid we give them counseling to send their kids to school, and if they did not find schools with special needs education we try to force the government with petition to open one, which is in fact successful and we are happy with the government’s response.
We have been working with the Ministry of Education to have policy and strategy on special needs education, we try to copy other countries’ experiences on the schools and we support them financially and technically. We also have been supporting parents in certain issues and help them to send their children to school.
Our association has been influencing to start special needs education starting from diploma up to PHD. Not only in Addis Ababa but also in other parts of the country even if it is still low.
The other thing we holdup because of the pandemic is that we have trained our kids and have been contacting with some companies to hire them.
The other success is through Special Olympics, which we formed at the national level to gather the kids and show their abilities on sport. We try to impact policies as a national level, every time there are activities on disabilities.
And recently the Deputy Mayor Takele Uma visited us and has given us a plot, so we are planning to build a big resource center.

Capital: How are you coping with the current pandemic?
Mihret: It is one of my biggest fears. We are trying to address parents to protect their children. The kids are forced to stay at home and they are frustrated with this. They are facing psychological seclusion, so parents always call to us and made us to tell them about the situation. For example the state of emergency prevent a lot of things, but there has no effort made to address these kids so they may do something that may led them to be arrested and attacked by police.
The other thing is, because of covid most of the parents are forced to stay home with their children and they need financial support but we cannot support them all.
Human resource, so the society needs to come and help us by everything they can it can be technical support, management, promotion, anything. We need them now badly. We are forgotten.

Youssou N’Dour, Zambia’s Minister of Health, African Development Bank Vice President headline call to build African solidarity post-COVID-19

Staff Reporter
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Youssou N’Dour, Zambia’s Minister of Health, African Development Bank Vice President headline call to build African solidarity post-COVID-19

How can Africa build on the solidarity shown during the coronavirus pandemic to achieve the continent’s development goals in the post-COVID world?
That was the question posed at a webinar hosted by the African Union’s Economic, Social and Cultural Council (AU-ECOSOCC) and the African Development Bank’s Civil Society and Community Engagement Division to mark Africa Day 2020.
Senegalese singer and activist Youssou N’Dour, Zambia’s Minister of Health Dr. Chitalu Chilufya and African Development Bank Vice President Dr. Jennifer Blanke headlined this special session, held on 26 May. Part of a COVID-19 awareness webinar series launched in April that aims to inform and empower African citizens on the appropriate responses to the coronavirus outbreak, the online forum drew hundreds of participants from political, civil society and development spheres who logged in from across the continent as well as north America, Israel, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia.
During the session, Minister Chilufya spoke to the need for coherent coordination among all stakeholders to mitigate the impact of the virus on the health of Africans and to ensure a brighter economic future.
“We believe a healthier population is productive and will drive the financial agenda of a nation. Investing in human capital is imperative now. For this, Zambia has embraced a multi-faceted approach that includes all sectors; civil society organizations, government organizations, political organizations, academia, media organizations, religious leaders, members of public. They all play a role in the sustainability of a country,” Chilufya told participants.
Dr. Jennifer Blanke, the African Development Bank’s Vice President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, said the COVID-19 crisis could exacerbate inequalities in education, health and employment opportunities that exist on the continent. She stressed the importance of working together after the crisis, focusing on Africa’s youth and women.
“We need to harness Africa’s talent. So many African women have great ideas but cannot obtain finance. The African Development Bank has an initiative that supports talented women entrepreneurs to make their business ideas a reality,” she said.
“Also, young people in Africa are a true force for progress; they see challenges everywhere which are in fact business opportunities. They understand how to use technology to help Africa leapfrog to better services. Just as mobile banking overcame a lack of bank branches, the shortage of doctors in many areas can be remedied with telemedicine solutions and other businesses,” Blanke added.
Thomas Kwesi Quartey, Deputy Chairperson of the African Union Commission, struck a similar note saying “we also have to support women, young people to combat COVID-19. At times like this, solidarity is more important than ever before. [In the words of] Kwame Nkrumah, the forces that keep us together as Africans are increasingly greater than the forces that keep us apart.”
Grammy award winner and former United Nations Goodwill Ambassador Youssou N’Dour said Africa should focus on raising awareness of development goals, using the influence of famous artists.
“We must rely on the cultural sector, on events such as concerts, because they add value. Influential artists can for example help the Bank reach its High 5s. Imagine using well-known artists as ambassadors who work and cooperate with those on the ground, in the field. Imagine the number of people they could reach with their messages,” N’Dour said.
The continent should seize the opportunity presented by COVID-19 to mobilize its resources for the future, said Vanessa Moungar, Director of the Bank’s Gender, Women and Civil Society Department.
“Let’s maintain this momentum and continue building a social and economic development model based on community participation and regional integration. A strong partnership between governments and civil society is essential. Engaging with civil society means being able to reach people at the bottom of the pyramid and improve the impact of development actions,” Moungar told participants at the webinar’s close.
The Bank and AU-ECOSOCC plan two additional COVID-19 awareness webinar series sessions focusing on youth and education in Africa.

Don’t Stop Dancing shares untold stories from the life of Michael Jackson

Staff Reporter
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Don’t Stop Dancing shares untold stories from the life of Michael Jackson

Everyone knows that Michael Jackson was discovered by Motown Records, the label that launched Michael and his brothers into the recording industry’s stratosphere, right? Not quite, says music producer and history buff Gary Revel, who interviewed former music producers Ben Brown and Gordon Keith for his latest investigative effort, Don’t Stop Dancing: Stranger Than Fiction.
Brown and Keith were two of the founders of Steeltown Records, a short-lived label in Gary, Indiana, and the first label to record a Jackson 5 single featuring the iconic voice of Michael Jackson. The long-held narrative that Motown Records initially discovered the Jackson 5’s immense talent was perpetuated by Berry Gordy (Motown’s founder) and the Jackson Empire, according to Revel’s account in the book.
“Ben [Brown] and Gordon [Keith] had produced the Jackson 5 in Gary, Indiana, before they started making music recordings for Motown,” Revel writes. “The first single record ‘Big Boy’ was produced by them and released on their label, Steeltown Records. It is the first music release on which Michael Jackson sang.”
Even though Michael has been gone for more than a decade, “he continues to sell more albums than many music icons of our time and his fan club still has over 3 billion card-carrying, dues-paying, faithful members worldwide! It’s no wonder that Rolling Stone Magazine deemed him the 12th most important figure in rock music history.” The King of Pop lives on today through his music and videos and “we believe Michael’s billions of fans around the world will want to know the many never-before-told facts that are in this updated edition of the book,” says Revel.
In the early 1990s, Revel, who had investigated the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., was asked to help expose the truth of the secretive life, music and career of Michael Jackson. But his efforts were put on hold when child sex charges against Michael Jackson took center stage. Later, Revel resumed his research, and he “not only found the truth but he also found those who wanted to keep the truth secret.” Revel says that Don’t Stop Dancing: Stranger Than Fiction “answers all the questions the world has about the life, music and career of Michael Jackson.”
Author Gary Revel was born in Florala, Alabama. After his parents divorced when he was just 5, music became a trusted companion, and he formed his first band when he was 15. After high school, he enlisted in the United States Navy. His Honorable Discharge came, and Hollywood called, then New York, Memphis, Nashville and back to Hollywood. Along the way, Revel investigated the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. in association with the US Government’s House Select Committee on Assassinations. Revel is currently writing, publishing and developing music, as well as literary and motion picture projects.

Is Ethiopia well prepared for the future rapid urbanization?

admin
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By Kassu Hailu

With its three thousand plus years of historical records, Ethiopia passed through magnificent civilizations and the reversal of those civilizations by persistent wars and other reasons. Its ancient and partly medieval period has shown impressive achievements in architectures and formation of cities and towns. The very reason for the formation of urban centers might not be to satisfy the increased number of population unlike the demand of the modern times. The basic reason is to glorify the richness of their kingdom and to satisfy the needs of the higher class of the society. Cities like Axum, Debrebirhan, Harar and etc. are among the earliest ones which were founded in the ancient and medieval periods. Other cities like Addis Ababa, Dire Dawa, Desse, Nazreth and etc. are the ones that are recently founded though some have earlier historical memory.
The objective of this article is not to deal with the historical background of Ethiopian cities. It is rather to show the necessity of planned and well organized urban centers to accommodate the rapid movement of people from the rural to urban areas.
The World Bank 2018 data shows that 79.2 percent of the Ethiopian population is living in rural area where it is 17.7 percent for the USA and 40.9 percent for China. Only about six countries have bigger proportions of rural population than ours namely Nepal, Niger, Malawi, Burundi, Samoa and Papua New Guinea. All other countries have lower rural proportion out of their total population. Therefore, it is logical to predict faster changes in the urbanization processes of Ethiopia in the very near future. As we know, majority of urban activities are highly concentrated in the capital Addis Ababa. Other cities and towns are not much attractive like Addis Ababa if we consider the business returns. But also Addis Ababa is not well planned and properly managed. Rather, it becomes the source of ethnic tensions on the basis of ownership. On the other hand, the demand for residing in urban centers is increasing with each passing day for practical reasons.
Small holder farmers cannot share enough farm-land to their young sons and daughters as the household holding will further decline. So practically there will be people without farm land as land is a fixed input. Moreover, youths these days are not willing to work in the agricultural sector even if their families share them some plot of land. There is very low tendency to work in the rural farms. Therefore, it is inevitable that adults who finish their high school and university will prefer to stay at urban areas even with worse living conditions. This calls for the proper interventions in our urbanization trends. So, what measures should be taken to be well prepared for the future rapid urbanization?
The first and the basic measure should be changing the spirit of ownership of cities. Every citizen who just has the identity card in specific city administrations should be entitled to the ownership of such city with respect to decision making, and other rights and responsibilities. Entitling the ownership of regions (and cities) by specific ethnic groups has created very bad attitudes towards long lasting investment in the cities. How can people be interested to invest in places that exclude them from citizenry rights? Nonsense! Therefore, the first thing is doing structural/constitutional amendments in the way that there will not be any ethnic homeland in Ethiopia. It will create specialization, increases demand and supply, and hence proper urban development.
Secondly, the land tenure system needs to be improved. The Ethiopian People Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) with the ideology of “developmental state” defined land to be owned by nations, nationalities and people. And practically, land is owned by the government where farmers (or other land owners) do not have the right to sell or present as collateral.
While private ownership of land is now the principle of the world, we failed to exercise it because of calculation of creating ethnic economic elite. Of course, nobody says that the private ownership of land is without problem – it has challenges but they will be solved as we exercise. Especially, if the built ethnic homeland system is abandoned, then the challenges will for sure be minimal.
The immediate cause for the past violent protests was the opposition against the Addis Ababa Master Plan. It was said to cause eviction of farmers from their farm lands while the recompenses are very small. Forceful evictions of farmers is everywhere in the country whether the purpose is to expand urban centers or other “investments”. It is clear that the current lower government compensations neither support the evicted families nor is the process efficient.
If land was free for transaction, there would not be any complain from the farmers, because they would sell their land by the market prices. For that matter, they would welcome the expansion of urbanization and investments as it helps them by raising the price of their land. The farmers would be part of the development of the city. In this context, the market value of land cannot be the same everywhere. This is the best way for inclusive urban development.
The other necessary step is identifying the future proposed urban areas, classifying them and preparing master plans for each city based on the national urbanization demand. Cities need not to be built in arbitrary ways but by plans that can create equitability among different parts of the country. In the master plans, residential buildings, business areas, transportation routes, sources of growth, and energy and other utilities should be defined clearly and in detail. Business companies that build real estates on long time repayment plans should be encouraged. Of course it would be better if it is done by partnership of the government and the private sector.
The last step is related to the implementation of the master plans and other regulations which are necessary for the integrated urban development. It needs political commitment to assign experienced technocrats in the leadership of the cities. The cities need international integration so that they become investment hubs. The city politics should be different from that of the rural – it needs more smartness. Creation of employment opportunities would be the top agenda of the city administrations.
To sum up, it seems that Ethiopia is not well prepared for the inevitable demand for well-planned and properly managed urbanization which needs due attention.

Kassu Hailu is Lecturer at Injibara University. You can reach him kassuhailu133@gmail.com

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