adults with disabilities cannot run a successful business due to the disability. The study further found that participants are viewed by the society as draining and not worthy of any special attention. They are marginalised and isolated. As described by the respondents, this is stressful and emotionally straining.
Enn (2008) supports the sentiments of the above respondents that physically disabled adults are viewed as objects of pity. The understanding of the society is that people with disabilities are ill, helpless and require to be taken care of. The experiences of disabled persons are buttressed by social attitudes that strengthen their inactiveness and dependency. In this regard, the charity model claims that persons with disabilities are sufferers of situations who should be sympathised with (Retief & Letsosa, 2018). The study observed that disability often leads to rejection and isolation. This can be exacerbated by communities’ attitudes perceiving adults with disabilities as abnormal, and as people who cannot perform functions as able- bodied people. They are perceived as sick, stranded and persons who need care.
suitable school with facilities which can cater for their unique and special needs. The local high schools that they have been to for enrolment do not have ramps for their wheelchairs to move around. The classroom facilities and major offices around the school are built with staircases, hence it was a major setback in terms of accessibility to enrol with such schools. Many participants indicated that they resorted to dropping out of school. The partially blind participants illustrated that they struggled with study material for their courses as the material was not brailed to meet their unique needs.
These views are backed by Chiwandire and Vincent (2017), who stated that poorly designed physical settings exclude individuals with disabilities from contributing in mainstream society. Lack of brailed material was raised as a major concern that impedes the smooth studying of academic material. Chiwandire and Vincent (2017) affirmed this perspective by elaborating that lack of braille resources deter and restrict participation among people with disabilities in the school sector.
4.5.2 Sub-theme: Transportation barriers
Participants reported that they are unable to find employment, health care and education because of transport barriers. The design of public transport made it impossible for a wheelchair to enter, let alone to fit inside taxis and buses.
Participants also reported giving up on schooling at Marondera High School due to lack of transport designed for disable persons. Families cannot afford to buy a private car, hence they opted for Kukura Neshungu Institute, which is closer to their homes where they can be accompanied daily on foot. The findings also revealed that participants were missing interview appointments because of lack of suitable public transport for persons with disabilities. Adult 10 described how he actually lost a job opportunity due to transportation related barriers. More so, the participant revealed that the company could not do an interview with him telephonically; thus he ended up losing an opportunity to get the job.
Participants argued that transport for the public in Zimbabwe is unsafe or accessible to them as persons who are living with disabilities, and has robbed them the right to live autonomous lives. They reported being locked in at home or just at the institution because there is no suitable transport for them to make choices of where they want to travel or visit. Transport barriers were described to be frustrating by participants.
“It is very unfair to us as people living with disabilities and using assistive devices such as wheelchairs. We have a right to access any place including public transport because we also have important places to go to daily”. (married, 43 year old male) The findings portrayed that transport barriers make it difficult for adults with disabilities to move from one point to another. Unsafe and inaccessible transport is described as one of the explanations persons with disabilities are disadvantaged in Zimbabwe. Bascom and Christensen (2017) confirm these findings as he described that access to transportation is crucial for gaining employment, healthcare, social interaction and health care. People who face problems in gaining access are described as transportation disadvantaged, and involve individuals of lesser socioeconomic status, aging persons, and people with disabilities. The study established that many adults with disabilities feel that the level of their access to transportation has inhibited their social life. The responses indicated that adults with physical disabilities who use wheelchairs faced transportation related exclusion. The majority of participants had to miss important appointments due to transport accessibility barriers. As supported by Bascom and Christensen (2017), many adults with physical disabilities felt that their social life was disadvantaged by their level of access to transportation.
4.5.3 Sub-theme: Health barriers
When asked about how they cope with health challenges, most respondents mentioned the use of third parties assisting them to cope. In clinics where ramps are available, participants emphasised that they are not properly designed, hence they would still need other people for assistance. Adult 17, a single female stated that every time she goes to the clinic, she is accompanied by her brother so that he can help her balance the wheelchair up and down the steep and narrow ramps. Here is what she said:
“I am very lucky to have a brother with a kind heart who accompanies me to the clinic on every check-up. I don’t know how I was going to climb those steep ramps”
Places where medication is collected in hospitals and clinics were reported to have staircases. The participants described having to use third parties such as family members or neighbours to help them to lift their wheelchairs. Participants view
themselves in such instances as being burdens to their families and neighbours.
Adult 1 also described asking people sitting next to her to confirm if she was given the correct medication as indicated in her prescription. She said that the prescription was written in too small letters for her to read.
Hanass, Regondi and Naidoo (2013) affirm these finding, arguing that the way in which indoor and outdoor facilities are structured can prevent individuals with disabilities from going to hospitals, clinics, schools and shopping centres, and getting access to police services and maintaining jobs. Places of recreation such as parks, footpaths and public transportation may also be unreachable, hindering some individuals with disabilities from embracing the most essential fundamentals of participation in social life.