Stakeholders convened in Rundu to discuss issues affecting people with disabilities in the Kavango Region.

The point is to find solutions to the challenges they often face.

People with disabilities face numerous challenges, ranging from access to identity documents and disability grants to inclusion in youth development programmes and access to education and justice.

The Community Liaison Officer in the Department of Disabilities Affairs in the Office of the Vice President, Daniel Trum, says people with mental disabilities in the region are often used as a means of entertainment instead of being helped.

Traditionally, in the region, people with mental disabilities don't get the same attention as the Kahiris. We just use him for joking, but if these people are brought to the centre of development, they can contribute to it. It depends on the level of their disability. I was very happy when we had the Town Hall meeting with the President when he came. Kahiri is the one who handed over the gift to the President from the Ngato Training Centre. Ngato is trying to promote. They don't judge based on his disability, but they try to see what this person can do."

Some participants talked about how people with disabilities are often discriminated against.

Patricia Kanyetu, a student from Triumphant College, said, "Some people lock us up at home. They do not want us to go anywhere. They don't want us to do what we want because they call us names. They don't want people to know that they have albinos at their house."

"People don't think that people with disabilities are human beings. People with disabilities must be strong enough, they must organise themselves. We have to make sure to go forward to establish ourselves and to make sure we push, push, push so we can be very happy and have a good life," says a resident of Rundu, Rafael Kampaza.

Rundu's Deputy Mayor, Johanna Kakondo, says the government is looking at reconsidering the policies affecting people with disabilities.

"We have qualified individuals on the agenda that will help us deepen our understanding, commitment, and dedication towards the improvement of policy implementation."