December 1, 2006
By Lucille Davie
THEY might be differently abled, but there was no stopping the group when they were invited to dance to kwaito beats at Museum Africa.
About 300 people from disabled homes and schools, brought from the suburbs to the Newtown museum in City buses, sat in a large semi-circle facing the central performance area. Compere Doug Anderson invited various performers and the disabled to join in the fun.
There was a moment's shy hesitation, but once several people moved forward to join the kwaito dancers up front, an avalanche of people rushed up, and soon wheelchairs were twirling to the music.
Organised by the City's Department of Arts, Culture and Heritage to acknowledge its disabled citizens, the programme was put together by project manager Irene Mafune.
Harvey Cohen and the Rush Drums were on the bill, but mostly the different institutions performed for one another.
The United Nations declared 3 December as International Day of Disabled Persons, and this year the City took up the challenge with planned activities at Museum Africa, the James Hall Museum of Transport and the Johannesburg Art Gallery.
Women from the Johannesburg Council for the Disabled (Jocod) in Lenasia, wearing colourful saris, danced a traditional Krishna dance from southern India. Other Jocod performances involved poetry reading and kwaito dancing. Kwaito legend Mercy Pakela made a brief appearance, singing a song to wild applause.
Diepkloof's Philip Kushlick School choir performed, followed by ballroom dancing by school members.
Then people from the Hamlet Foundation in Lenasia sang and gave a history narration. Senior citizens from Naledi in Soweto presented a drama musical while the Adelaide Tambo School in Dobsonville performed ballroom dancing and drama. Members of the AIM Centre in Kensington did a history narration.
Patrick Mabunda, chairperson of the Association for the Physically Disabled and in a wheelchair himself, started the morning with a short speech. "Disability is something which cannot be done away with – it will always be here."
He encouraged those present to study. "Without education you are more disabled. Please study – there is no age limit to study. The more you do, the better it is for yourself."
But he then changed his tone. "We want excitement, we want joy, and we want to be happy, to show the world we can do it."
After the performances everyone got back on to their buses, where they were given packed lunches, and headed off to the Johannesburg Zoo, for an afternoon of fun-filled activities.
Mafune said other organisations had contacted her after hearing about the programme, and as a result, she anticipated a "whole line-up" next year.
The transport museum will be treating disabled people to rides on various vehicles and a party on Sunday, 3 December. The Johannesburg Art Gallery has an exhibit for the blind, Willem Boshoff's Blind Alphabets, on display until February next year.
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