THIS year’s edition of Miss Deaf Zimbabwe is uncertain amid indications by the Deaf Zimbabwe Trust that they had not been able to pull together the financial resources required to bankroll the beauty contest.
BY ALOIS VINGA
Deaf Zimbabwe Trust executive director Barbara Nyangairi told NewsDay this week that no support had been forthcoming from the corporate world.
“We still have challenges to do with stigma against the disabled. We had scheduled the Miss Deaf contest to take place in November and by now, all the groundwork should have been completed, but we have not received the necessary support from the corporate world,” she said.
“If nothing concrete comes along we may be forced to scrap the contests off the calendar.”
Nyangairi said it was important for people to appreciate that disability is not inability and there was need to allow people living with disabilities to express themselves artistically.
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“The barriers that the deaf face have been erected by the society in which they live. People with disability have a lot of potential that has been untapped, but with support they can develop themselves,” she said.
She said many young deaf girls and boys loved modelling but due to social exclusion, the Miss and Mr Deaf Zimbabwe pageant was established to cater for their interests.
Outgoing Miss Deaf Zimbabwe Kudakwashe Mapeture said financial challenges had also affected her reign, during which she also failed to participate in the Miss and Mr Deaf pageant finals last year.
“We received invitations from the Miss Deaf World organisers last year, but limited of financial support saw me failing to compete effectively in Miss and Mr Deaf World 2014 pageant hosted by Czech Republic,” she said.
She appealed to the business community to chip in and assist models living with disabilities realise their dreams. “I call upon the business community to support us in our endeavour this year,” she said.