The objective of these questionnaires is to conclude as to whether promises towards differently abled people in S.A have been met. Mechanisms that have been put into place by the government include the following:
*The development of a draft charter of S.A. that reflects the demands of disabled people- who promotes equal opportunity for all disabled people
*The 1996 Constitution – makes provision to promote non-discrimination of disabled people in the workplace.
*S.A. has also put into place an “Integrated National Disability Strategy” - the objectives being
- The integration of disability issue into government developmental efforts
- Development of management strategies that co-ordinate disability planning, implementation and monitoring
- Programmes of public education and awareness, raising aimed at changing fundamental prejudices in South African society
- A vision: of living in a society where everybody is equal and people with disabilities are naturally integrated into society as a whole and should have the opportunity to express their talents and the like.
*The development of a draft charter of S.A. that reflects the demands of disabled people- who promotes equal opportunity for all disabled people
*The 1996 Constitution – makes provision to promote non-discrimination of disabled people in the workplace.
*S.A. has also put into place an “Integrated National Disability Strategy” - the objectives being
- The integration of disability issue into government developmental efforts
- Development of management strategies that co-ordinate disability planning, implementation and monitoring
- Programmes of public education and awareness, raising aimed at changing fundamental prejudices in South African society
- A vision: of living in a society where everybody is equal and people with disabilities are naturally integrated into society as a whole and should have the opportunity to express their talents and the like.
Questionnaire: 1 - Julie Parle 10/10/2007
PERSONAL
1. How old are you? 45 years old, born in 1962
2. What is your disability? Explain?
Pharmacelia, which is the shortening of the limbs. The cause of Pharmacelia was discovered to have been a drug induced morning sickness pill, provided to pregnant women. At this present day this drug has become very contaversial, for other curse, such as cancer.
3. Were you born with the disability? Yes.
4. Is it difficult to talk about disability? ? At a young age Mrs Parle said to have struggle to accept her disabilities but as of today I quote, that she doesn’t define herself by her disability.
WORKPLACE
5. Do you believe you have been a victim of another employees passive attitude?
At times of her life she has encountered difficult people, but has found that the working environment in which has worked in has been more of an affect on her life. For example, her working environment at the Petermaritzburg University has caused a challenge in her life but she has over come them on the Howard college campus.
6. Did you have to prove your equality in the workplace? Julie Parle says she has to work “tripally hard” to prove her equality in the workplace and the working environment.
7. Is it practical to move around the university campus and /or is the workplace design conducive to your disability? At the Howard college campus certain understandings were met, where by door handles were readjusted in order to meet Julie Parle’s requirements and her history department is easily accessible with the lifts. Although mobility is made easier for her she still finds it very difficult in her working environment to access certain departments within the campus.
8. In terms of communications do you feel more comfortable talking to another person on the phone or is it not an issue for you? Julie Parle feels that it is very hard to get the message across to be new faces. It takes a lot of her energy to get the message across in order to make people feel at ease.
8. Taking things slowly A small number of disabled workers felt it was better for them to adopt a gradual but planned strategy. They saw it as important not to be too precipitate in asking for workplace changes but to build up workplace relations before asking. This helped them understand employment environments, management styles, personnel changes, corporate priorities and impairment changes:
9. Could you relate to this? Did you immediately fit in or did it take longer then you thought? In terms of Maritsburg, the campus needed for her to become a pushy and demanding person in order to get the access across the campus. She had to push officials to get her basic requirements. In her transfer to Howard college she found that the college campus helped enormously in aiding for her. She gained small appreciation for items that were adjusted right before she stepped foot onto the campus.
GOVERNMENTAL VIEWS
10. Is the government grant effective or not, in the case of disabilities? N/A
11. Do you have support from outside the university or the country? Yes, family friends and loving husband.
12. Do you think there are other ways in which financial aid can be supplied to disabled individuals? She strongly aggress that “YES” there are many ways in which financial aid can help !! For example offering free prosthesis, artificial limbs and spending more money on health within the country.
13. Are you aware of the disability policies that the government has implemented? No she is not, but she makes a valid point, whereby an illiterate person will not be aware of the policy because they are not educated. People who have disabilities must be educated in terms of the policy and become aware of the possibilities being offered to them.
Do you have any suggestions in policy/ laws/ bills acts in which you would feel would improve the conditions and chances of disabled individuals in South African workforce? Public transport is a problem taken up by Julie Parle, where she has made it ineffective for a disabled person, or example in a wheel chair to use the public transport within and around cities.
On behalf of my group (Labglob 2007) I would like to thank Mrs Parle for her time and interest in our discoveries.
7. Is it practical to move around the university campus and /or is the workplace design conducive to your disability? At the Howard college campus certain understandings were met, where by door handles were readjusted in order to meet Julie Parle’s requirements and her history department is easily accessible with the lifts. Although mobility is made easier for her she still finds it very difficult in her working environment to access certain departments within the campus.
8. In terms of communications do you feel more comfortable talking to another person on the phone or is it not an issue for you? Julie Parle feels that it is very hard to get the message across to be new faces. It takes a lot of her energy to get the message across in order to make people feel at ease.
8. Taking things slowly A small number of disabled workers felt it was better for them to adopt a gradual but planned strategy. They saw it as important not to be too precipitate in asking for workplace changes but to build up workplace relations before asking. This helped them understand employment environments, management styles, personnel changes, corporate priorities and impairment changes:
9. Could you relate to this? Did you immediately fit in or did it take longer then you thought? In terms of Maritsburg, the campus needed for her to become a pushy and demanding person in order to get the access across the campus. She had to push officials to get her basic requirements. In her transfer to Howard college she found that the college campus helped enormously in aiding for her. She gained small appreciation for items that were adjusted right before she stepped foot onto the campus.
GOVERNMENTAL VIEWS
10. Is the government grant effective or not, in the case of disabilities? N/A
11. Do you have support from outside the university or the country? Yes, family friends and loving husband.
12. Do you think there are other ways in which financial aid can be supplied to disabled individuals? She strongly aggress that “YES” there are many ways in which financial aid can help !! For example offering free prosthesis, artificial limbs and spending more money on health within the country.
13. Are you aware of the disability policies that the government has implemented? No she is not, but she makes a valid point, whereby an illiterate person will not be aware of the policy because they are not educated. People who have disabilities must be educated in terms of the policy and become aware of the possibilities being offered to them.
Do you have any suggestions in policy/ laws/ bills acts in which you would feel would improve the conditions and chances of disabled individuals in South African workforce? Public transport is a problem taken up by Julie Parle, where she has made it ineffective for a disabled person, or example in a wheel chair to use the public transport within and around cities.
On behalf of my group (Labglob 2007) I would like to thank Mrs Parle for her time and interest in our discoveries.
Thank you
