Disability is an adjective and not a verb; the correct phrase is a person (s) living with disability (PWD). A PWD is a person with impairment in interacting with the environment.
Maintain a natural language when interacting with a PWD; avoid stereotypes or stigmatizing depictions of PWDs and phrases and words that demean individuals with disabilities.
This was revealed in a training for top management on disability mainstreaming on Tuesday, May 21, 2019 at the UoN towers.
The Representatives from National Council of Persons Living with Disability (NCPWD) took the management through the definition of disability, the different types of disabilities, how to identify a PWD, etiquette of handling persons living with disability, and guidelines to disability mainstreaming.
“If you are in doubt, rely on your common sense and/or ask the disabled person if they need any assistance” emphasized Linda Chebet from NCPWD.
When delivering his keynote address, the UoN Vice Chancellor, Prof. Peter Mbithi noted that Universities offer education and education is all about civilization, the disability mainstreaming training will enlighten the management and the institution as a whole to treat PWD in a civilized manner. He urged the management to measure up to the standards of leadership,” As leaders, we need to know what disability is; we need to train ourselves to understand legally how to identify PWD and how to treat them.”
Prof. Mbithi challenged the management to comply with the agreement signed between the institution and the government. He also challenged them to ‘Care’, he said, ‘Care is one of our core values, and we should all practice it.’
On his part, Prof. Stephen Kiama, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Human Resource and Administration underlined the importance of the University of Nairobi adhering to the guidelines of disability mainstreaming citing the policies that guide Human Resource and Administration.
At the University of Nairobi, there are toilets for PWDs, ramps, the lifts that have voice prompts; students and staff who move around with the help of a guide are allowed to and accorded the needed help whenever necessary.
