When disability is discussed in terms of percentages, there is a disconnect from reality because it doesn’t seem absolute, but when imagining the number 2,026,469 of the population, or better yet, when considering a scenario where every resident of Lusaka and Kitwe with a combined population of 1,267,440 and 792,350 respectively, including the president, vice-president, and all government officials: that is the number of PWDs in Zambia. Imagine that everywhere you look, someone is facing one challenge or another. Statistics often don’t seem real, until you visualise them in terms of actual people.

Picture strolling through the mystical corridors of statehouse on your way to a cabinet meeting—step after step, suddenly, bump! “Oh, excuse me, didn’t see you there…” And then you carry on, walking further into the grandeur of what I imagine to be opulence at its finest. Yet, I can’t quite see it for myself. “Oh, pardon me! Would you mind moving your wheelchair slightly to the left? Ah, thank you so much, kind sir!” Under such circumstances, it would be conceivable that State House staff would be compelled to introduce policies that would favour positive discrimination to address the needs of those with disabilities. But as the saying goes, unless you’re infected, you don’t get affected!