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ZAMBIA DEAF YOUTH AND WOMEN


ZAMBIA DEAF YOUTH AND WOMEN 
(ZDYW)
 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 Zambia Deaf Youth and Women is a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) of the Deaf Youths and Women. It was founded on 30th April, 2009 by a group of Deaf people lead by Mr. Frank Musukwa Junior     who felt that their interests, rights, plights and personage were not recognized.

 

VISION

Our vision is a society that guarantees full participation and equality for its Deaf Youth and Women as well as its “hard of hearing” communities.

The vision calls upon ZDYW to be a catalyst for change and to continuously contribute to efforts regarding the shaping the policies of tomorrow towards a society for all.

 

MISSION STATEMENT

”ZDWY’s mission is to advocate for the equalization of opportunities and for the rights of Deaf youth and Women in all fields of life e.g. good governance, justice, health, basic higher education, employment, social service and social economic welfare”.
 

Equalization of opportunities as well as the rights of Deaf Youth and Women calls for the recognition of Zambia Sign Language (SL) as the language of the Deaf communities. Skills can be best taught using Sign Language.

It is envisaged that this will be achieved by:

  • Providing service and support that reflects the values, aspirations and culture of Deaf Youth and Women.
  • Monitoring, advocacy and awareness initiatives that focus on Deaf Youth and Women, the barrier of deafness and hearing loss
  • Providing  Deaf  leadership that is related to knowledge management and research
  • Contributing to policy debates that promote the mainstreaming of a Deaf a perspective to broader development agenda of Zambian Government and society.
  • Continuous capacity and development of staff involved with ZDYW to achieve consistently high work output and growth.
  • Reflecting, through our work, an enhanced quality of life and well being of Deaf people and a more just society.

ZDYW Values

The following are the values of ZDWY:

  • A supportive system of management
  • Commitment
  • Diversity in skills training
  • Education
  • Flexibility
  • Humility
  • Information dissemination
  • Respect for our culture of Sign Language
  • Transparency and accountability 
  • Teamwork spirit
  • Time management
  • Voluntarism

 

OBJECTIVES

ZDYW will ensure that services developed or those to be developed are relevant to the needs of Deaf Youth and Women in Zambia. ZDYW will do this by undertaking the following objectives:

1.     Deaf Youths and Women advocacy and representation in spheres of social, economic and cultural needs so that policies are responsive to the needs of Deaf people.

2.     Equip Deaf women with skills for economic empowerment to foster positive living

3.     Research, development and advocacy for official legal recognition  of Zambian Sign Language

4.     Information research, publication and dissemination and Promote social integration of the Deaf youth and women.

5.     Co-operation with local and international  NGOs, the government and companies in relation to education, training and employment opportunities for Deaf Youth and Women

6.     Continuous advocacy, lobbying and fundraising activities

7.     Organization of leadership skills training courses, and Deaf awareness seminars/workshops to sensitize the general public.

8.     Advocate for progressive legislation and policies to protect the interests of the Deaf Youth and Women in line with UN Convention on Persons with Disabilities.

9.     To open a mutual Aid Fund to collect monies for the Deaf Youth and Women community with an emphasis on raising awareness on the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

10.           Promote sports and recreation activities for Deaf Youth and Women

11.            Advocate for human rights of Deaf youth and women and community in general.

12.           Pass on human rights and conflict transformation skills to other Deaf youth and  Women

Zambia Deaf Youth and Women’s guiding principles will reflect our identity of who we are and what we stand for, as individuals and as an organization.

In our quest to achieve our vision and mission, we will embrace and be driven by the following guiding principles which will influence the way in which we interact and engage with our colleagues, clients and stakeholders:

  • Accept, welcome and respect diversity including the diversity of opinions in a spirit of trust and dialogue.
  • Place Deaf Youth and Women empowerment and popular participation at the forefront of our actions, activities and behaviors.
  • Preserve and promote the status of Zambian Sign Language as the indigenous language of the Deaf community.
  • Cherish nurturing of talent and self-development and potential of Deaf Youth and Women to succeed.
  • Be accountable, responsible and committed above and beyond the norm.
  • Recognize and respect the views of the Deaf community.
  • Continuously challenge existing assumptions through improvement, innovation and creativity.
  • Cooperate with other established organizations and support initiatives aimed at Deaf Youth and Women development on a broader scale.
  • Be non-racist, non-sexist and have respect for Human Rights of all people.
  • Emphasize social and community awareness as corner stone in everything we do.

 

PARTNERSHIP

Zambia Deaf Youths and Women will work in  close collaboration with  Opportunity Zambia, National AIDS Council, Zambia National AIDS Network, Zambia Federation for the Disabled, Care International , Civil Society for Poverty Reduction, Global Movement of Children, Zambia National Association of the Deaf, Zambia Deaf Vision, Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Ministry of Community Development and Social services, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Youth Child Development, Ministry of Gender, Church Health Association of Zambia, Action on Disability and Development, existing local and International Youths and Women Organizations, Local and International organizations that will consider it expedient to support us.

 

MEMBERSHIP

 Membership is open to any Deaf Youth or Women regardless of his/ her association with any Organization. There are several kinds of membership e.g.; individual and institutional membership. Members bring to the ZDYW knowledge, capacity and rights based strategies and standards thereby enabling the ZDYW to release its strengths and unity of purpose. As members bring to the ZDYW their skills, time and other resources, ZDYW is obliged to.

v    Enhance capacity of members to plan and implement Deaf Youths and Women’s rights, programmes and to monitor implementation.

v    Make relevant information available to member institutions and individuals to realize the full ownership of  ZDYW’s programmes

           

ACTIVITIES

1.     Education and awareness campaigns on HIV/AIDS specifically for Deaf Youth and Women.

2.     Human Rights awareness campaigns in relation to rights of deaf youth and women

3.     Attending meetings/ workshops/ conference locally and internationally in the interest of the organization        

4.     Design and implement projects that best address issues and concerns critical   to the empowerment and advancement of Deaf Youth and Women in Zambia.

5.     Create beehive entrepreneurial development and training with emphasis on business management and strategic marketing aids to facilitate entry of Deaf emerging entrepreneurs into the economic mainstream.

6.     Membership Development/outreach. The vision in on making ourselves known to the Deaf Youths and Women and the public by encouraging members to publicize the ZDYW Organization.

7.     Promote the well being of the Deaf community to ensure equal enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedom through the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and U.N Standard Rule on equalization of opportunities for persons with disabilities.

8.     Bridging communication gap through Sign Language awareness training to general public, private sectors, public sector and to families of deaf children at a reasonable charge.

 

How you can support our cause:
 

                                i.            Donate resources e.g. books, magazines, computers etc.

                             ii.            Include us on your mailing lists for information dissemination

                           iii.            Plan to include us in your programmes and activities by inviting us.

                           iv.            Open up your forums to the Deaf by ensuring provision for Deaf Sign Language interpretation.

                             v.             Acknowledge and respect Sign Language as language of Deaf people.

                           vi.             Support our activities:

                        vii.            Donate clothes for deaf youth and women


Zambia Deaf Youth and Women (ZDYW)

P.O Box 20369,

10101 Kitwe,

Copperbelt Province.

Zambia.

SOUTHERN AFRICA.


www.zambiadeafyw.org.zm


Email: zambiadeafyw@zambia.co.zm,

           frankmusukwa2005@yahoo.com

           frank-junior@zambia.co.zm

 

Mobil Cell # +260977 866459(SMS) / voice calls +206969 549196/+260977 971442

 

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