In an effort to ensure inclusivity of PWDs, the project exhibited at the National Disability Expo held in Bindura, Mashonaland Central Province. The project participated in the expo from the 10th to the 12th of July 2024.
The expo, organized by the Office of the Disability Advisor in the Office of the President and Cabinet brings together organizations that of persons with disabilities. The expo ran under the theme, “Accelerating the attainment of Vision 2030 disability targets for enhanced inclusive sustainable development” The Smallholder Agriculture Cluster Project utilized the expo to interact with organisations that represent and work with PWDs in order to understand the work that they do in order to understand how they can work with SACP. The SACP officers also recorded contacts of PWD organisations with a view to creating a database of these organization so that the project could contact them for future activities with the project. The project also created awareness on the project among Persons with Disability, eliciting interest from some of the, particularly those who came from districts where SACP is being implemented.
The expo was officially opened by the Vice President, Hon. Kembo Mohadi who represented the President, His Excellency, Cde Emmerson Mnangagwa. In his address, the Vice President said, in line with Second Republic’s philosophy of leaving no one behind, the National Disability Expo provided a platform to enhance the mainstreaming and inclusion of PWDs in national development. He added that Government had made strides in empowering PWDs through appointments to parliament, senate and other senior government posts. He said, “Persons with Disabilities must be visible in all sectors of development in Zimbabwe. Their voices must be heard and listened to….. Instead of the traditional charity model of giving them fish, let us give them the fishing line, emancipate them and empower them. The Zimbabwe National Disability Expo spearheaded by my office is an opportunity to tap the inherent potential of PWDs and support them to be self-reliant and self-sufficient.”
