|© UNICEF Zimbabwe/2012| |Seventeen-year-old Munashe was trained
at a young age to use his feet to write.| By Bertha Shoko
BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe, 28 December 2012 – At King George IV School
of the Disabled, 17-year-old Munashe Chikuvanyanga, a Form 1
student, is taking a final examination in mathematics. Munashe
writes in his exercise book with his feet. A physical disability
prevents him from writing with his hands. The teacher expects
him to complete the exercise in the same amount of time allotted
for all students for the test because Munashe insists on not
being given special treatment. “I don’t like being treated
differently because I am disabled,” says Munashe. A marginalized
group Because of more than a decade of socioeconomic challenges,
many children living with disabilities in Zimbabwe are among the
most marginalized and excluded groups of children. Compared to
their peers, they are less likely to access health, education
and other social services. They are often excluded from
opportunities to particip