Saturday, 24 September 2022, South Africans celebrate their heritage – often with a braai – for Heritage Day. This national holiday, affectionately dubbed Braai Day, is to remember our cultural heritage; where we came from; where we are; and, perhaps, where we want to go.
For most people, heritage relates to their specific cultural background; however, it can also extend to other parts of your identity such as gender, sexuality or disability.
This Heritage Day, QASA looks back on its 43 years of existence, reflects on the history of disability rights and activism in South Africa, and considers what the next decade might hold in store for people with disabilities.
Where it all began
In 1978, a group of quadriplegics in Johannesburg decided to establish the Quadriplegic Association of South Africa (QASA) as a national coordinating structure representing all quadriplegics associations in South Africa. Around this time, people with disabilities of all races, cultures and ages were organising in an attempt to empower themselves and oppose the oppression that they faced.
Colleen Howell and her team details the oppression in their research paper, A History of the Disability Rights Movement in South Africa:
“Under apartheid, the experiences of people with disabilities were also the experiences of a deeply divided people living in a profoundly unequal society. The lived experiences of black and white people with disabilities under apartheid were very different and reflected the general inequalities between white and black people in South Africa.
“For the majority of black people with disabilities, their lives were about struggling on a daily basis to cope with the poverty, deprivation and violence of the apartheid system, a struggle compounded by their disability. However, it is important to recognise that under apartheid all people with disabilities, black and white, were discriminated against and marginalised because of their disability and had very limited access to fundamentals-economic rights such as employment, education and appropriate health and welfare services.”
“Despite their relatively privileged position in relation to black people with disabilities at the time, [the experience of] white people with disabilities was one of being dependent on a health and welfare system run by people without disabilities. It was a system where professionals spoke on their behalf and generally created conditions in which people with disabilities were ‘cared for’, often in institutions separate from society, rather than living independently, integrated into mainstream society.”
With the fall of apartheid, more disability organisations emerged to empower the disability community.
Where we are now
Nearly a half-century later, QASA re-constituted as the QuadPara Association to include paraplegics and has more than 6 500 members with four regional associations in the Gauteng North, Gauteng South, North West and Western Cape.
Today, the organisation is still serving its members to enable them to live their lives to their full potential. This includes assisting its members with securing assistive devices, obtaining their driver’s licence, furthering their education, encouraging them to participate in sport, keeping them informed through a website, social media presence and many publications and securing employment.
Recognising the discrimination and inequality that persists, QASA is also dedicated to supporting its members through advocacy and lobbying on behalf of quadriplegics and paraplegics. Currently, QASA’s flagship project – the Work Readiness Programme – is empowering members to find full-time employment in the formal workplace.
Of course, the organisation hasn’t been immune to the challenges facing the South African economy following the global pandemic that raged for two years, the flooding in KwaZulu-Natal to the continued loadshedding. But, this isn’t a concern for an organisation that has faced four decades of opportunities, challenges and turmoil. The future remains promising.
Where we are going
QASA is currently in the process of restructuring the organisation to decentralise its projects and slim down on expenses so that it can focus on providing services to its members.
While there will be many more challenges, QASA can safely say that it has weathered the storm well thus far. Regardless of what the future holds, QASA will remain focused on its vision of empowering every quadriplegic and paraplegic in South Africa to live their lives to their full potential. We will continue to innovate and adapt to provide our members with the support that they need.
Finally, a big thank you to the funders who make it possible for QASA to continue providing its services. We are eternally grateful.
Read more about disability activism, rights and history in South Africa here: A History of the Disability Rights Movement in South Africa.