SMALL and Medium Enterprises and Cooperative Development deputy minister Noveti Muponora says his ministry would mobilise financial support to enable the Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe Trust to continue providing self-help projects for people with disabilities.
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Officially opening a livelihoods workshop at the trust’s headquarters in Harare’s Westwood suburb on Thursday, Muponora said his ministry was working with various other organisations in implementing sustainable livelihood projects for small and medium-sized businesses and cooperatives.
He said this model, which entailed training potential beneficiaries, making start-up kits and capital available and following-up to guide beneficiaries in implementing their projects, had proved effective in empowering disadvantaged groups, such as widows, orphans and drought-stricken and disaster victims.
“We are, therefore, grateful that Leonard Cheshire Disability Trust has adopted the same model in their plans to empower people with disability to be self-reliant,” Muponora said.
He said his ministry had taken a keen interest in what the trust was doing through its livelihoods programme. The ministry was, he said, looking at ways in which it could nurture this initiative.
Speaking at the same occasion, Senator Annah Shiri, who is also physically challenged said: “I encourage Leonard Cheshire Disability Trust to keep doing what it is doing and spread its work across the country in order for the lives of people with disabilities to be uplifted. We will also help especially those who need starter money for their projects.”
Participants included representatives from various government ministries, traditional leaders, social workers, ward councillors and non-governmental organisations working with people with disabilities.
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Access to livelihoods programme manager Angela Rugara said the programme included counselling, career guidance, soft skills and vocational training The trust’s executive director Ben Chikwanha said the programme had benefitted more than 1 500 people with disabilities since its launch a few years ago.
