Disability is not Inability

:: It started with a sign language class.

It was at the Serena Beach Hotel in the coastal city of Mombasa and expectations for us was high among the disability community who were in tendam with the New Year Celebrations planned for the 31st of December about 12 days away. The weather was hot and the lawns were exquisite with many revellers already pouring into the gem of mombasa raha.

Alighting and booking of the Hotel was the easy part, the harder part was scripting the video and working on the best scenes that would match with the key messages, and some of the most celebreted women in disability that year; The First lady Mama Lucy Kibaki and Susan Mwikali the runners-up Miss Disability 2003 crowned months before.

The key message was persons with disabilities can also get HIV/AIDS.
and the idea was to ensure other disabilities would also be represented while the main target of the the public video was the general public. The other version which was fully signed was for the consumption of the community that uses sign language. Time was limiting and there was need to ensire that the one for the public is ready by 29th. This was a heculean task since the editing was to be done in Nairobi and the editorial guys did not know sign language.





The shooting was done by Mark Moss Productions who also did the initial editing. Mark is seen here at work wth Susan and the First lady going through some of the materials developed by the Miss Disability Secretariat in readiness for the Miss Disability Peagents that was held earlier in the year at the Hilton Hotel.


The first Lady had to learn basic sign language to be able to as they say 'ask for water' in Kenya Sign Language. This was an important step if any integration is to be effective. It is humbling to note that she was willing to sit for very many hours within her tight shsdule to learn how to communicate with her deaf daughter.

She had expressed concern from the beginiing that it is important that all communities should be included in the national AIDs campaign management. That HIV AIDs has no respect for disability and serious effort need to be made to ensure that persons with disabilities also were included in not only AIDs awareness but also VCT and Treatment.

For HIV/AIDs Awareness she decided to personaly be involved in developing an inclusive video material that would enable all persosn with disabilties to learn about the scrouge. The video was very useful in not only building self confidence among the PWDs but also in the expansion and improvement of awareness among the PWDs.

She personnaly commited to ensure that they also had access to VCT. To this end she planned to attend the official opeing of the Deaf VCT project in Buruburu. Due to commuitments on the same day with the Regional First Ladies against AIDs project which had a meeting in Rwanda she was not able to peronally attend.

confessions during the shooting.

It was during the shooting of a video in which the message was ADS knows no disability. the venue was Serena Hotel Mombasa the year 2004 december christmas celebrations.

The introductions was interesting as they discovered that mother and daughter had actually been to the same school. They first lady said she had been to Tumu tumu primary school which fortunately has a deaf section Tumutumu school for the deaf. This is where Susan had her primary school.

They both love mombasa for their holidays and were encouraged. The mother was caring to the daughter as is seen in the video, where the daughetr wants to risk a walk in the slaty waters but the mother guides them to first focus on the shooting. The two are seen running together to show joy and happy times that disability is bracing despite the challenges it currently faces.

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Category: Gender

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