The World Day of Prayer celebrations 2020 will be hosted by Zimbabwe with the theme: ‘Rise!, take your mat and walk’. Bible Society of Zimbabwe, in partnership with World Day of Prayer, seeks to take a holistic approach by advocating and empowering both the mother and challenged child in the community, whilst bringing its own unique skills and area of expertise as a Bible Society.
We will aim to provide Scriptures to the mothers of disabled children (Bibles + bookmarks with verses for inspiration and encouragement) and their children (Children’s Bibles), for them to have the Word as their source of strength and comfort.
We will then seek to empower the mothers through income generating workshops. We will also seek to help them form support groups as they receive testimonials from those who have raised children living with disability. This is meant to focus more on reducing the stigma and isolation surrounding those with children living with disability and also highlighting the reality of disability in the community. There will be advocacy workshops and special training (including Bible studies) for mothers and children through participatory presentations and discussions. The project targets all the mothers with challenged children in Zimbabwe by partnering with responsible authorities to ensure that this project conveys the reality of disability and gives support to those living with disability.
We have added a literacy dimension to our project in order to answer an identified need for children with dyslexia for example. We will use materials (handbooks + teaching aids for teachers, and books for children) developped by BS South Africa and train the teachers of schools with special classes as well as parents.