Music by Prudence Illustrates Life of Disabled Children in Africa
Hi, this is Lisa Wolf, Sr. V.P. of Communications. Noel, who normally writes our blog, has been begging for other people to share their thoughts so today I thought I’d jump in.
As I drove the work on Tuesday morning, the voice on the radio described a scene all too familiar to me. U.S. born documentarian, Roger Ross Williams, talked to NPR about the plight of disabled children in Zimbabwe. Williams commented, “Many families in Zimbabwe reject children born with disabilities. Fearing witchcraft, adults in Zimbabwe often see their children’s differences as a sign that the family has been cursed.” He went to say, “These children get locked away” They’re hidden from the rest of society because the families are ashamed of them.”
At CURE, we have shared this same story many times. It breaks our heart each time we read a story from one of our hospitals that describes the harsh realities of life for a disabled child in Africa.
As I listened further to the report, I learned that this story was upbeat and a celebration of triumph over adversity. In an Oscar-winning documentary, Williams profiled Prudence Mabhena and her band, Liyana, which started as a class project at a school for the disabled in Zimbabwe. This band comprised of all disabled musicians shares their beautiful music with the world and demostrates that never giving up can produce something really special. The band toured the U.S. last year and the documentary started airing on HBO last night.
From all of us at CURE, we congratulate Williams on his Oscar win and celebrate Prudence and Liyana for raising awareness of the plight of disabled children in Africa. Perhaps someday we can partner together as we continue in our efforts to ensure that specialty medical care is available to all 100 million disabled children in the developing world.
Posted by: lisa.wolf
Speaking from a Malawian perspective, this story is true for us. When some recent research took place in Uganda a while back, parents of children who had had their physical disability corrected through surgery were asked what the biggest benefit or win was. Their answer? Hard for us to appreciate from a Western perspective but here’s a clue – it had nothing to do with access to education, helping out with chores or getting a job.
Answer: knowing that my child is not cursed. Yes, this was the biggest relief for people – knowing that their child had not been put under some mysterious curse by other people for the rest for the rest of their life. Belief in the power of curses and witchcraft remains very strong in rural areas throughout Africa and particularly in countries where CURE is working such as Malawi, Uganda, Zambia, Kenya, Ethiopia and soon Niger. We forget how much we take for granted thanks to our education and Christian faith. I play a small part in the CURE Malawi team and it remains a great privilege to see how lives are changed each day in very deep ways that go way beyond physical healing.
Hey Lisa, nice post! I checked out that story of Prudence – or at least the website for their documentary. Looks like a very compelling story! (I hope it comes to Netflix.)
It’s pretty awesome to see how by forming a band, they are essentially celebrating the fact that a disability doesn’t prevent them from creating something wonderful. I bet that means so much to other people in their area with disabilities.