By FELIX SILWIMBA-
“UKUTUMA kwabushishe inkoko amabele,”  (Over-delegating disadvantages the sender)  and “ Uulelosha taba muceba Kukanwa,” (You don’t gaze at mourners).
IT is said that a Chicken has no breasts because it sent the Dog who collected for herself and that one does not necessary need to listen to mourners’ sentiments.
They are arguments for and against inclusive education for children with disabilities. As my way of explaining, I will take you through my personal experience and that of others who grew up with polio from early childhood.
At the age of two, my mother suddenly noticed that I could not walk, this followed a bout of Diarrhoea.
For the next three years, my method of ambulation was crawling. The assistive device I had was a commercially made tricycle, my feet were tied on the pedals then I could be pulled along as exercises for my limbs.
Until when I was five years old, my late grandmother came along to stay with us, she firstly massaged my legs using the traditional methods of warm water with her bare hands working through all my little leg muscles.
Thereafter, she made a wooden pole that she used to make me hold to and guided me to walk around the house.
Within a week, I was able to walk with the support of the pole. Since both my legs could touch the ground, I was encouraged to walk without the support of the pole.
At that time, they were few craftsmen who could make wooden armpit crutches. Being a fast, enthuastic and motivated learner I was, I was able to walk again with my right hand pressing on my right thigh as additional support to the weak leg.
The ability to walk again encouraged my Dad to get me into Grade one at the age of six, with my age mates I played with in the neighbourhood and the surrounding villages.
In Chinsali, I remember my late friends like Mupembe Singoyi and Marvel Chileshe Ngoma (Chilaka) and the Nsofu family.
Being an inclusive school, it was such a good experience as my friends would carry me around for Physical education.
During weekends, I participated in our local small boys’ football league as a goalkeeper for my team. Our league comprised of teams from Choshi village, Makoba village, Bana mateacher ,Banashitolo and occasionally those from Masandilko village(Kapili), a village which was far off for me to walk, I was never left out of the child play.
Even though I enrolled at an early age in School, unlike today were it appears almost automatic for our children to progress up to secondary education, I was only able to enter boarding secondary school at the age of 15 at Kenneth Kaunda Secondary School.
The mode of travel to school was by foot, a distance of 8 Km. I was in Grade 7 first time in 1976, then 1977 and finally 1978.
I recall at my primary school we were four children with physical disabilities in various grades. We were three of us in secondary school and one senior student with physical disabilities.
One of our senior colleague was a library prefect and had special sleeping arrangements while the rest of us mingled with everyone else in the dormitories, but were exempted from participating in station upkeep activities.
I took the following subjects during my junior secondary school; Technical Drawing, Metal Work, English, Mathematics, General Science, Agriculture Science, Geography and Civics.
For some reason, I was good in all the subjects. In senior secondary school, industrial arts was dropped out and I took physical science (Physics and Chemistry), Biology, Mathematics (syllabus D), Commerce, Ichi-bemba, English, Literature in English and Geography.
For rural school standards, I was so good at mathematics that my classmates nicknamed me “professor”.
Our secondary school education was to some extent theoretical and practical at the same time, some of my friends actively managed the school production unit based on agriculture.
I had fewer challenges in adjusting to university life as a freshman, the only difference from boarding school was that there were no restrictive school rules and we had a room we shared.
Again, I would not know whether it was by design or coincidence that my roommate during my first two years at Main campus was a blind student who was pursuing a degree in education.
My roommate was in second year. It was another great human experience to have two disabilities sharing a room.
He was really organised, he did his own laundry, collected his own food from the dining and always made sure that his bed was made.
He kept things in a particular order. I occasionally assisted him with reading books and he recorded or transcribed in Braille.
I liked the way we read the English Dictionary word by word according to the alphabet as I read the meaning of the words he would pick those that sounded good and then transcribed in Braille, even though I was a natural science student, I did not use that as an excuse not to read English for my roommate.
After my two years at main Campus, I moved on to Ridgeway campus for my medical studies.
I was at Ridgeway Campus when one Youngman I had left in secondary school visited and joined university with a physical disability.
It clicked in my mind that I definitely inspired him during our boarding school days, through him we mobilized other students with physical disabilities at main Campus and formed an association that the university student affairs recognised.
Some of the members of the University Association of Handicapped students included, Mr Davies Chansa, Mr Chola Kafwabulula,  Mrs Patricia Daka Jere, MsJosephineShinaka, Ms Jenifer Malembeka, Mr Felix Simulunga, Mr Justine Bbakali  , Mr Daka, Ms Gladys to mention a few.
This group achieved many things amongst them was a sponsorship for University students with disabilities from Finland through Threshold an association of University students in Finland.
The other one was to sensitise students for disability leadership for them to become active participants in the national disability movements.
Like any other human movement, it is a matter of time we shall regroup to take over leadership of the disability movement in the same way it has happened elsewhere.
Coming to the subject matter, missionaries pioneered the setting up of special schools for persons with disabilities mostly the blind and a few for the deaf.
Pupils with physical disabilities were included in ordinary schools until later in the 1970s, partly as a response to polio affected children, Government built some special schools.
As the definition of the child with disability broadened and the lobby to have every child have access to education, special units have been established in most schools mainly to cater for children with learning disabilities.
I could safely conclude that inclusive education is good for those children with manageable impairments in terms of activity and participation limitations and social interaction.
However, that should be implemented cautiously for children with severe impairments in activity and participation limitations and social interactions.
It is good to treat each child’s needs individually and provide the most suitable intervention.
(Dr Felix Silwimba. MBCHB MPH is Director General. Zambia Agency for Persons with Disabilities. Independent Living activist Post Polio person)