Rwandan Journalists Empowered to Report on Disability
The Rwanda Organization of Journalists Advocating for People with Disabilities (ROJAPED) has equipped the local media with skills that will allow them to effectively report on issues related to disability.
Taking place from August 19–22 in Muhanga District, the workshop attracted twenty media practitioners and encouraged them to write and produce stories about disability and its impact.
Participants reflected on how disability was perceived in Rwanda before independence, after independence, and in the aftermath of the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi.
The training facilitator Mugisha Jacques who has been blind for more than three decades elaborated how Rwandan society used to marginalize people with disability until the establishment of HVP Gatagara Hospital.
“Families used to hide Persons with disabilities; they were never valued like other people,” he said.
“They only started receiving society’s attention when Father Joseph Adrien Fraipont Ndagijimana built a hospital to care for them. Even then, the site was put in a remote area to an extent that the people with disability had difficulties accessing it. Those who managed to reach the facility received education and treatment that helped them study and get proper healthcare”, he added.
Participants had an opportunity to visit HVP Gatagara Hospital, where they toured key departments, including the prosthetics and orthotics. They interacted with patients and doctors with the latter explaining the daily operations. They also spoke about challenges such as the shortage of medical professionals.
Meanwhile, Mugisha commended the government of Rwanda under the leadership of President Paul Kagame for sparing no effort to empower persons with visibility.
He said, the only thing he would tell the president if ever he gets an opportunity to meet him would be “thank you”, and he has a genuine reason to say so.
“People with disabilities have reached a level where we are contributing to national development. We will not be a burden on our country. Instead, we will show that there are persons with disabilities who are journalists, teachers, drivers, and others. I wish to thank all those who spare no effort to contribute to inclusivity,” Mugisha said.
The training was organised by ROJAPED with support from Fojo Media Institute, aimed to empower journalists with the ethics and professional tools that are required to strengthen disability storytelling and to promote inclusive journalism in Rwanda.
Nadine Umuhoza