Deaf Zimbabwe Trust – One year later: successes and challenges Netsai Kembo Deaf Zimbabwe Trust: Vice Chairperson

Deaf Zimbabwe Trust carried out a number of activities Most of them were geared towards policy change which we will provide details as we go DZT held 9 psycho social and sign language workshops, We were sad to suspend our psychosocial support workshops due to financial constraints but compensated by engaging in high level advocacy work in 2014 We also strengthened our collaborative work with organisations that share the same values as us DZT found a new home and moved offices to Number 12 Victory Avenue, Greendale Introduction

 DZT continued advocacy work for policy reform with various ministries of government aimed at improving the lives of the deaf community in Zimbabwe  The new constitution provides a unique opportunity for the Deaf community to improve their lives Advocacy work

 DZT is happy to report strengthened relationship between itself and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education  Increased dialogue will result in a shared understanding of the values we stand for and together we can go far  More can be done and more needs to be done to improve the educational outcomes and experiences of children who are Deaf  DZT is excited with the work the Ministry of Primary and secondary education have done to improve the assessment process for children who are Deaf through appropriate modifications starting in 2015 for grade seven Advocacy work

 This is a mile stone that needs to be celebrated and more can be done to improve the situation  Sign language interpretation in various situations such as health, education and television  DZT continues to fight for the right to interpretation and by extension access to information through the promotion of sign language  Very little success, a number of things need to change such as attitudes towards the Deaf and commitment to providing information Advocacy

 While we have written to the Ministry of social welfare, we have been totally ignored and we will continue to call on these Ministries to give audience to stakeholders.  DZT working with youth representatives from all over the country sent a petition to parliament and we are still awaiting audience with the speaker on the issues raised  DZT submissions to the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Health and Child Welfare were highlighted in the parliamentary debate as shown in the Hansard. Advocacy

 DZT began a job placement programme and it is still on going as we find ways to improve the process of linking prospective job seekers to potential employees Job placement

 DZT conducted qualitative research on the educational experiences of Deaf adults in order to undertake evidence based advocacy and the same issues remain relevant to students who are Deaf in schools today  The findings show that work has to be done in a number of fronts: the home, parents, guardians need to support Children who are Deaf; the state has a critical role to play in quality educational provision and society has to support the Deaf in their quest to live independent lives Research

 Deaf Zimbabwe Trust (DZT) conducted a leadership academy workshop for Deaf Youths in Zimbabwe with the help from a grant which was awarded by YETT.  The academy equipped leaders who are Deaf on advocacy and leadership  A petition was presented to parliament after the academy Capacity building

 DZT has published 12 Issues of the Deaf Bulletin since we started  The challenge has been to get funding to print and distribute widely   This newsletter provides Deaf news, activities going on in the sector as well as national news in brief and other news on current affairs.  The bulletin has been distributed to members and stakeholders through , our website and distribution during workshops and outreaches. The Deaf Bulletin Newsletter

 DZT for the first time exhibited at the annual Disability expo.  This provided an opportunity to increase awareness about the Deaf community, distribute the deaf bulletin and respond to queries from people who visited the stand  From the stand, we saw that there is a lot of interest about the Deaf community, most children who are Deaf are not attending school until they are teenagers and this has serious consequences for their future Exhibitions

 While DZT did not have funding for TV and radio programmes, we took advantage of the free programmes that we got from radio and TV.  These allowed us to continue to increase awareness of the problems faced by the Deaf community and what needs to be done to improve the situation. Radio and television programmes

 DZT carried all its activities successfully notwithstanding the constraints faced. DZT achieved some successes and learnt a number of lessons for the future from the last commemoration until now. More work needs to be done and together we can achieve more. We must not tire but continue to work hard until the Deaf community in Zimbabwe achieve equity and live dignified lives. Conclusion