Walk a mile in our chairs

KNYSNA NEWS - The Knysna Association for Persons with Disabilities (APD) recently kicked off annual Disability Awareness Month with a unique event at Knysna Municipality on 3 November.

They invited municipal leaders such as Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa to attempt to access the municipal building in the manner that a person living with a disability would.

The idea behind the event was to let the municipal dignitaries experience the challenges that persons with disabilities face when they try to access the main municipal building in Clyde Street.

"From the moment you try to enter the building, you begin facing difficulties because the door is not always open wide enough to allow someone in a wheelchair through," said Herchell Witbooi, centre manager at Die Werkswinkel, which is the home of Knysna APD.

"From there the challenges only become greater as there is no means for you to access the top floor of the building if you are in a wheelchair. There's no lift, no elevator. We can't go and see the mayor as he's on the top floor."

Knysna Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa and Patriotic Alliance PR councillor Waleed Grootboom.

Witbooi also highlighted the fact that people should remember that disabilities come in various forms, not only physical, and each comes with its own challenges when using public service buildings.

"Are there copies of municipal documents such as the IDP in braille for blind people? Is there staff that can speak sign language to communicate with deaf people? Everywhere you go, there are significant challenges in public service buildings for persons with disabilities," Witbooi said.

These challenges were ultimately acknowl-edged by Knysna Mayor Aubrey Tsengwa, who committed to making the buildings more accessible for persons with disabilities. "To start off, I will instruct my office - the mayor's office - that we must move to the bottom floor so that we can be more accessible to the people of the public," he said.

"We have had talks in the past about installing an elevator in the municipal building and we will continue to seek out ways in which we can enhance our offerings to the public."

The event forms part of Knysna APD's Walk in my Wheels campaign, which will be held throughout the month of November until 3 December. This day marks the end of Disability Awareness Month and also serves as the International Day of Disabled Persons.

The day on which the event was held, 3 November, was not only the first day of Disability Awareness Month, but also marked Knysna APD's 29th birthday celebration, making it a special day.

Deputy Mayor Alberto Marbi gestures to the stairwell leading to the first floor, indicating they need to 'get up there'.