Workshop Day

Our big event today was the workshop we were giving at Bauleni Street Kids Project. We really had no idea how many people to expect, but we ended up with about 75 people in attendance. We had a very nice mix of parents, administrators, and educators.

Advocacy and self-advocacy were our main topics for the workshop. Amy spoke about person-first language and valued social-roles. She showed a video called “A Credo of Support” and the reactions to that were interesting. One man was surprised by the line, “Do not help, ask if I need help and what help I may need.” He related a couple of incidents where he did not ask and the person was very offended. In one, he pushed a wheelchair across the road when the light turned green and the man in the chair was very angry and told him he had not right to do so. In another incident, he threw a quarter into the bag of a disabled woman because he thought she was begging. She became angry as well and told him, “I don’t need your money.”

Another facet of “A Credo of Support” that surprised people was the line: “see my disability as an attribute.” It had never occurred to a few people that a disability could be seen as an attribute.


Liz presented next about law and policy, Lori was up next with self-advocacy, and Beth ended the day with community organizing.

One thing we found out today is Africans love to get certificates for going to education workshops. Apparently, they even keep them in scrapbooks to show people. They are very particular about having their names spelled correctly…I think I rewrote at least 10 certificates! I will admit I had a great deal of difficulty spelling some of the names.

After the workshop, we headed back to Kalundu and had dinner with the sisters. They are always such a joy to be around and have been very gracious. I also have to give a big thank you to Nama and Mikala. They have shepherded us around Lusaka for a week now and organized everything flawlessly.