Despite her degree in journalism from a United States university, it has not been easy for her to get a job after graduating because of her disability.

She just can't see but she does read and write in Braille.

Agisanyang Pitsane, public relations officer for the Botswana Council for the Disabled (BCD) spoke about the challenges facing disabled people at a commemoration in Francistown.

The theme of the celebrations is: 'Social inclusion of people with disabilities'. "We just want to show how people with disabilities are excluded in social networks and we want to involve the stakeholders in the challenges faced by the people with disabilities," Pitsane said.

She said that most of the people living with disabilities live in poverty because they cannot find employment. She also indicated that most of the people in her condition do not make it to tertiary education "because for them to do so they have to prove themselves beyond reasonable doubt that they are capable. Everything that we do has to be above those who are not living with disability," Pitsane said.

"It is only a few who make it to tertiary level and if they do they must be really outstanding and excel more that the people living without disabilities," she said.

Pitsane pointed out that when government introduces empowerment programs, the disbled are not included or catered for.

She said that they are made to compete against able-bodied people, which is difficult because they cannot run around doing everything without their aids who might be busy when they need them.

We encounter everyday problems of poor accessibility in terms of transport and money.

"With the high rates of unemployment it is difficult because they are not even considered for cheap labour like baby sitting or cleaning the house. BCD thinks it is high time that government come up with something specific that could alleviate poverty amongst people living with disability in the form of a disability grant," Pitsane stated.

She revealed that while most of the people living with disabilities face hardships finding employment, government is not even considering them for their food rations unless they are destitute or orphaned.

"They tell us that the social workers are the ones who are supposed to assess if the people who need the rations really should be taken on board. But these social workers will tell you that your parents or your siblings are fit to work and help you," Pitsane said.

She indicated that they are dependent on other people on a daily basis.

"Even if I am working, I need a personal assistant or a driver in this kind of job. These assistants are not paid by our employers but from our pockets because we are the ones who need them. The disability grant could help us in reducing total dependency on our families and relieve them of some of our problems so that they could be able to do other things without worrying about us," she said.