Include people with disabilities, group calls

Disabled Widows and Orphans Organisation in Malawi has bemoaned economic and social discrimination against people with disabilities.

During an extraordinary meeting on Wednesday at Rumphi Boma, the organisation’s member Million Chione claimed that widows with disabilities are denied access to employment opportunities and loans to start small-scale businesses.

“This perpetuates poverty within households headed by widows with disabilities, exacerbating their financial struggles,” she said.

Another member, Grace Mtawali, said widows with disabilities struggle to make ends meet because they are excluded from some economic activities.

“We struggle to provide basic necessities such as clothing, food and education for our children due to lack of sustainable income sources,” she said.

Mtawali urged well-wishers to support them with assistive devices such as tri-cycles, crutches and wheelchairs.

In his remarks, the organisation’s executive director Kennedy Mhango emphasised the transformative potential of empowering the widows through meaningful economic empowerment such as businesses.

In a show of solidarity, Chikulamayembe Women’s Forum executive director Tiwonge Gondwe pledged to collaborate with widows with disabilities by supporting some of their initiatives. “We want them to be able to provide basic necessities to their families,” she said