Household Challenges and Opportunities of Persons With Disabilities in Two Selected Villages of Chobi District, West Shoa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia

Household Challenges and Opportunities of Persons With Disabilities in Two Selected Villages of Chobi District, West Shoa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Household Challenges and Opportunities of Persons With Disabilities in Two Selected Villages of Chobi District, West Shoa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia Disasa Ararsa, Beyene Dugassa, Tesfaye Tura This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6392011/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This study investigates the challenges and opportunities faced by persons with disabilities in two villages within the Chobi District, West Shoa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research combines quantitative data from a survey of 154 households with qualitative insights gleaned from key informant interviews, focus group discussions, personal observations, and life histories. The study reveals a complex interplay of factors impacting Persons with disabilities’ lives. While acknowledging the presence of supportive policies, affirmative action, and improving public attitudes, the research highlights significant barriers, including financial constraints, inadequate housing, health issues, unemployment, and a lack of specialized education and support. Persons with disabilities experience social exclusion, stigmatization, limited political participation, and are often hidden within their homes due to societal shame. The findings underscore the pervasive economic, social, and political marginalization of Persons with disabilities, stemming from misconceptions and limited opportunities. The study concludes with a call for urgent and coordinated interventions from governmental and non-governmental organizations to address these systemic issues. Recommendations include providing essential social services, raising community awareness through targeted media campaigns, and fostering inclusive environments to combat stigma and discrimination, ultimately enabling Persons with disabilities to fully participate in society. Disability Handicap Impairment persons with disability Figures Figure 1 I. INTRODUCTION Capacity from people with disabilities is essential in light of the labor deficit (Gaudiano and Hunt, 2017 ; Morath, 2019 ). In many developing nations, the predicament of young disabled children living in rural areas is still unresolved. Many people have unfavorable cultural views regarding the causes of impairments. Disability may be linked to witchcraft, demonic spirits, ancestral spirits, or punishment from the gods because of the mother's pregnant infidelity (Ocran, 2022 ). In many African societies, children with disabilities are sometimes viewed with suspicion. According to Mailwane ( 2017 ), when it comes to children with disabilities and their families, societies respond with fear, anxiety, dread, disgust, hostility, and demeaning behavior. This response frequently results in the exclusion of impaired children as well as prejudice and discrimination against their rights and privileges. Depending on the type of handicap, these children are either regarded with respect and appreciation or negatively, with derision, according to the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF, 2011). The phenomenon of discrimination against people with impairments is not limited to interpersonal relationships. It also has an equally oppressive structural component. Even in settings and situations where individual discrimination might not exist, structural discrimination can nonetheless take place. Because structural discrimination is not always readily apparent, it is difficult to pass laws against it (Nkomo & Marucchi, 2020 ). People with disabilities suffer discrimination not only from their interactions with others or from the behavior of people, but also from the normative systems and institutional structures of organizations including schools, religious organizations, workplaces, and the service sector (Nkomo & Marucchi, 2020 ). Persons with disabilities are among the least fortunate members of any society. (Erickson et al., 2014 ; Grech & Soldatic, 2016 ; and Gudlavalleti, 2018 ). They typically either stay in lower socioeconomic strata or struggle to leave the oppression that the disability identity evokes because of the stigma and discrimination they face. Nonetheless, individuals with impairments are not a monolithic group. Several social identities and the social positions they hold allow for their differentiation (Nario-Redmond, 2010 ; Pal, 2011 ). The rehabilitation discourse is constantly shaped by the various theories and models that question the concept of disability. These theories help define impairment and provide guidance for interventions that address the issue of disability. (Ndzwayiba, 2017 ). Disability is often perceived as a hindrance to employment. According to a recent Deloitte consulting research on the inclusion of people with disabilities, there are significant obstacles in the workplace. These include discriminatory hiring practices, unfavorable attitudes toward people with disabilities, a lack of technology support, and a lack of disability education conducted by businesses. Active management of these obstacles is necessary since failure to do so may prevent companies from making use of people's abilities. To get over these obstacles, both accommodation and technology are employed. (Allen and Cohen, 2010 ). Even though there were some studies on the challenges and opportunities of inclusivity on the livelihoods of persons with disabilities in Ethiopia, studies on the challenges and opportunities of community and environmental barriers for persons with disabilities are scant. This is particularly true of the study area. As far as the researcher’s reading concerns, there was no previous literature conducted related to household perception, challenges, and opportunities of persons with disabilities in the study area. This study therefore attempts to assess’ household challenges and opportunities of persons with disabilities in the study area. The specific objectives of the study were to investigate challenges of persons with disabilities in the study area and to explore opportunities for persons with disabilities in the study area. The research questions of this study were: What are the challenges of persons with disabilities in the study area? And what are the opportunities for persons with disabilities in the study area? The contributions of this study were that it was used to identify household challenges and opportunities of persons with disabilities and come across with relevant solutions and recommendations. In other words, it was used as an input for policy makers, planners, and development practitioners. Similarly, it may initiate government and all other stakeholders to reconsider their policy and process in attitude toward persons with disabilities and their challenges program. It was also alarming to the administrators to think about what might be constructed in inclusion for persons with disabilities. Moreover, it may help as a reference for other studies in the area with similar or other themes of study. II. MATERIAL AND METHODS Description of the study area : Chobi District is located in the west Shoa Administrative Zone of the Oromia Regional State at about 138 kilometers (km) distance from Addis Ababa and 90 kilometers (km) distance from Ambo Town. It is bounded to the North by Abuna Gindeberet and Gindeberet, in the South by Elfeta, in the East by Jeldu, and in the West by Ambo Woreda. Chobi district has 11 rural kebeles and one municipality, and the study concerns the rural area. According to the Chobi Woreda Finance and Economy Development Office (2023), agro-climatically, the district is divided into highland, mid-highland, and lowland, which account for 27%, 56%, and 17%, respectively. The district has a total population of 65,482, of which 32,085 are males and 33,397 are females. The major economic activities are agriculture, in which 95% of labor forces are engaged. Mixed agriculture, which is characterized by crop production and livestock husbandry, is the predominant economic activity and the major source of livelihood in the study area. Crop production is mostly dependent on rain-fed and major crops produced in the area: wheat, barley, beans, maize, teff, sorghum, and some vegetables and fruits were also grown mainly in the rural area of the district. Livestock husbandry is one of the important livelihood resources, particularly in the lowland areas of the district. Cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys, and poultry are among the major types of livestock reared in the study area. ( Chobi woreda Agricultural Office, 2022) Research Design, sampling methods and procedures A multistage sampling procedure was implemented to select sample representatives. In the first stage, districts were purposively selected based on the vulnerability and isolation of the persons with disabilities in the area, as well as the fact that the persons with disabilities situation may not be the same throughout the country, even within the same region. So, wide ranges of studies about persons with disabilities at the micro level were essential to achieve a certain conclusion. In the second stage, samples of PAs were selected purposively depending on their degrees of persons with disabilities and the challenges faced by persons with disabilities at that time (rough estimation of persons with disabilities made by Chobi district labor and social affair office report, 2022). Accordingly, the most disabled were marginalized and isolated from societies in two rural villages of the study district (Dire Kebena and Chobi Sirba) that were selected purposively. Finally, 154 sample respondents were selected by using the random sampling technique, and 154 respondents were identified using the Yamane formula. Data Types and Sources; Methods of data collection; and methods of data analysis The study utilized both primary and secondary data types from primary and secondary sources, respectively. Scheduled interviews, key informant interviews, personal observations, and life histories were employed as methods of primary data collection. Accordingly, a scheduled interview was employed to collect primary data from 154 rural households in two rural villages of the district with the help of data collection instruments. To complement the quantitative data collected through the interview schedule, the researchers also employed focus group discussion, key informant interviews, personal observation, and life history methods to collect the qualitative data from participants. The primary data collected from the fieldwork were also complemented by the secondary data collected from the secondary sources in order to bridge the information gap from primary sources. With regard to methods of data analysis, both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis were employed to analyze the data. To investigate the challenges of persons with disabilities and to explore opportunities for persons with disabilities, the qualitative data captured through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, personal observations, and life histories were transcribed, interpreted, and analyzed in the form of descriptions and narrations by employing thematic content analysis. Data collected through scheduled interviews were analyzed with the help of simple descriptive statistics (percentage and frequency). Accordingly, percentages and frequencies were employed to summarize quantitative data with the help of SPSS Software (SPSS version 23 software) and Microsoft Excel 2010. III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION Demographic and Socio-economic characteristics of respondents Surveyed results show that 50.0% of sampled respondents were between 40–50 years, followed by 32.5% between 29–39 years, 7.8% in the age category 18–28, and 9.7% in the age category above 50 years. 59.7% of sampled respondents were from male-headed households, while 40.3% of them were from female-headed households. The family size of sampled respondents was found to be 4–6 members of families, 55.2%; 1–3, 7–9, and above samples of respondents were 30.5%, 13.0%, and 1.4%, respectively. Education level sampled of respondents: 25.10% were unable to read and write, 22.1% were certificate and above, 16% can read and write, while 14.3% attended grades 1–4, and the rest sampled of respondents: 9.5% attended grades 5–8, and also 7.5% and 5.4% were grades 9–10 (secondary school) and 11–12 (preparatory school), respectively. Marital status of sampled respondents: 77% were married, and the rest of them were unmarried, divorced, and widowed, which accounts for 9.1%, 6.5%, and 7.1%, respectively. According to the surveyed data, out of the total respondents, 33.1% of respondents were self-employed, followed by farmers, laborers, and employees, which account for 28.6%, 25.3%, and 13.0%, respectively. From these, the majority of the respondents were self-employed. Challenges of Persons with Disability The major Economic challenges of persons with disabilities There are major economic challenges those persons with disabilities are facing in the study area as revealed by surveyed results. Some of these were problems of shelter, financial constraints, livelihood insecurity, and unemployment. According to the survey result, about 35.1% of respondents stated the main economic challenges persons with disabilities encountered in the study area were problems of shelter, financial constraints, livelihood insecurity, and unemployment ( see Table 1 below ). Similarly, the researcher asked the focus group participants regarding the major challenges that persons with disabilities faced. Then they stated that the major challenges they encountered were the problems of shelter, financial constraints, unemployment, insecurity of livelihood, and difficulty of getting a job. This finding is consistent with previous studies that persons with disabilities encountered financial constraints, which was in line with the research findings of Wardak and his colleagues ( 2003 ). According to Wardak and his colleagues ( 2003 ), PwDs have limited formal or informal employment opportunities; the absence of income and lack of access to finances and safety nets are major challenges for disabled people’s livelihoods (Wardak et al., 2003 ). Table 1 The economic challenges of persons with disabilities Economic challenges for persons with Disabilities Frequency Percent Problem of shelter 22 14.3 Unemployment 34 22.1 Financial constraints 27 17.5 Livelihood insecurity 17 11.0 All* 54 35.1 Total 154 100.0 (Source: Field Survey, 2022/2023) The key informant interviews findings reveal a sense of uncertainty of persons with disabilities “about their livelihood. The prevalence of not getting regular jobs, because of their disabilities, lack of acceptance, insufficient support, misperception, ignorance, and misunderstanding, caused a sense of insecurity about their livelihood. The insecurity of livelihood can pose the persons with disabilities” to concern that could in turn result in a life of poverty. Limited formal or informal employment opportunities, absence of income, and lack of access to finances and safety nets are major challenges for disabled people’s livelihoods (Wardak, 2003). Women are more marginalized than their male counterparts due to their disability as well as gender-specific challenges. “I’m disabled. Women now have houses/shelters that I live in. I don’t have two legs. I move by my hands, how I do, and get money for house rents. I got five children from five; four died because of a lack of sufficient food, health care, financial support, etc. Also, my husband divorced me because of my disability. Political challenges of persons with disabilities According to surveyed results, about 98 (66.7%) of respondents stated that people with disabilities and non-disabled people cannot participate equally in political and leadership activities, whereas only 49 (33.3%) of respondents replied they were participating (See Table 2 below). The data obtained through FGD and key informant interviews, as well as from stakeholder officials, strengthen the result of the survey. From this result one can conclude that persons with disabilities were not participating equally in political leadership with persons without disabilities. Table 2 Persons with disabilities and non-disabilities participate equally in political leaders Persons with disabilities and without disabilities participate equally in political leaders Frequency Present Yes 52 33.8 No 102 66.2 Total 154 100.0 (Source: Field Survey, 2022/2023) According to the survey results from the total 154 respondents, 59 (38.3%) of respondents responded that the political challenges of persons with disabilities were lack of acceptance by some people, 56 (36.4%) of them responded that lack of guarantee for free expression of the will of persons with disabilities was a political challenge of PWD, and 39 (25.3%) of respondents replied that absence of good political will was the main challenge of persons with disabilities (See Table 3 below). Table 3 The Political challenges for persons with Disabilities Political challenges of persons with disabilities Frequency Percent Absence of good political will for persons with disabilities 39 25.3 Lack of guarantee for free expression of the Will of persons with disabilities 56 36.4 Lack of acceptance by some people 59 38.3 Total 154 100.0 (Source: Field Survey data, 2022/2023) The results of FDG and KII regarding the key political challenges of persons with disabilities support the quantitative results, and one member of KKI reported that ‘In fact we can question the woreda administrators, particularly to participate in vote committees at kebeles and district levels based on our rights. Besides, even though the board committees at the district level are not volunteers to us, indirectly we can question them via our kebele councils, but practically they are neither accountable to the council nor to the people. Accountability is either to their bosses or to the party leaders. ’Persons with disabilities are seen as mindless, so our political rights aren’t protected. As the result of these findings, the political challenges facing women with disabilities include lack of education, self-confidence, and training regarding political rights; ignorance; and an acceptance that came from this discrimination and misconception about PwD’s capabilities. One participant of KII states that, “As a woman, I’m restricted to my house. I’m not allowed to go out frequently. Therefore I do not have any political ideas about the rights of PWD”. This lack of awareness regarding voting and elections could prevent them throughout the village, since most of PWD have not availed themselves of any government facilities except a few supports. The previous research supports these findings, which found that disabled people’s ignorance of existing entitlements further reduces their self-esteem and increases their dependency. The study found that extreme family control and lack of political power have made disabled people in the village voiceless and powerless (McClain-Nhlapo, 2010 ). Social challenges of persons with disabilities The survey results, the social challenges of persons with disabilities were the absence of special needs education for persons with disabilities, inadequate support for persons with disabilities, and challenges in social life (to participate in idir, wedding, and holyday), in which respondents replied 48 (32.2%), 35 (23.8%), and 14 (9.5%), respectively, and generally the respondents chose all 53 (34.0%) to show they were experienced by these challenges in their lives ( See Table 4 below ). Table 4 What are the social challenges for persons with Disabilities? What are the social challenges for persons with Disabilities? Frequency Percent Challenges on social life (participate in idier, wedding, holyday) 14 9.1 Inadequate support for person with disability 37 24.0 Absence of special need education for persons with disabilities 50 32.5 All*, 53 34.4 Total 154 100.0 (Source: Field Survey data, 2022/2023) YFG / Youth Focus Group / Participants said, “I really want to go to school, but there are no schools that can accept me. Sometimes they take my inability to speak well as a reason because no one has taught me how to speak. So I end up spending most of my time at home. When I see kids going to school, I envy them. However, my families don’t care about me; sometimes they told me that they have no money or there is no school for me. My unhappy days will never end.” Social factors such as stigma around disability also create barriers. The education of children with disabilities is challenged by the lack of understanding of all teachers about the principles of inclusive education, and a culture of inclusion within schools is not always well established despite political intent and commitment. The mother of four (4) children with disabilities said that, ’from four two (2) girls with ages 12 and 7, have the problem of hearing and speaking. Noted: “Disabled girls are very shy compared to disabled boys and need special care. In our district there is no special education for children with disabilities, and because of this, all of them were out of school. I think for their future chance, like “The Chance for Childhood Education, Equality and Empowerment, and Learning Support Assistants for children with disabilities too. Recognize that disability has a profoundly more negative effect on girls than boys in a learning environment. This is mainly due to lower self-esteem, which affects girls’ confidence at a very basic level, even with support. Some people perceive disability as evil, a bad fate, or the result of God’s punishment, and children with disabilities are often hidden at home by their parents. It is felt that many parents continue to be reluctant to enroll children with disabilities in a mainstream school as they fear the child will be rejected. Many parents of children in special placements do not want their children to be mainstreamed. Environmental challenges for persons with Disabilities The survey results indicate that 48.7% of respondents responded to the environmental challenges like distance from their service deliveries (health, school, etc.), 28.6% of respondents replied lack of infrastructure (road, health services), and 22.7% of respondents responded to an unfavorable environment for their employment ( See Table 5 below ). Table 5 Environmental challenges for persons with Disabilities What are the Environmental challenges for persons with Disabilities? Frequency Percent Unfavorable environment for their working conditions 35 22.7 The distance from their service deliveries (health, school…) 75 48.7 Lack of infrastructure ( road, health services) 44 28.6 Total 154 100.0 (Source: Field Survey data, 2019) Similarly, the ideas of FDG and KII support the survey results. In focus group discussions of persons with disabilities, many challenges arise from these challenges, and the distance from their service deliveries (administration office, health, school, etc.) is the major challenge. Focus group participants said that ‘environmental challenges have an impact on persons with disabilities. Building Proclamation, No.624/2009 provides for accessibility in the design and construction of any building to ensure suitability for physically impaired persons, but the administrative office, place of meeting and training, school, and health services are not available for persons with disabilities. They also mentioned that people with disabilities, especially women with disabilities during pregnancy time, who live in rural areas haven’t accessed health services. In addition, bad road conditions and transport have limited their opportunities. I’m 26 years old. My disability is physical disabilities. ‘’I live in rural villages, and I learned only up to grade 8 due to the absence of secondary schools in our village and the distance of schools. By this challenge, I stopped my education. Now I try doing wood and metal work, but challenges like lack of electrical expansion in the rural village and an unfavorable environment for work. ’ The previous research report supports this idea, health conditions were affected by environmental factors such as low birth weight and a lack of essential dietary nutrients such as iodine or folic acid; the impact on the incidence and prevalence of health conditions associated with disability is most well established (UNCF, 2008). Challenges of Cultural and religious believe on persons with Disabilities There are major cultural challenges that PWD were facing in the study area. Some of these are protecting/hiding disabled persons at home/being ashamed of disabilities, lack of norms for marrying disabled persons, and ignoring persons with disabilities from negotiation. According to the survey results, about 30.5% of respondents stated that the main cultural challenges that PWD encountered included protecting/hiding disabled persons at home/being ashamed of disabilities, lack of norms for marrying disabled persons, and ignoring persons with disabilities from negotiation (See Table 6 below). Table 6 The major Cultural and religious challenges for persons with Disabilities What are the Cultural challenges for persons with Disabilities? Frequency Percent Protect/hide persons with disability at home/being ashamed of disabilities 32 20.8 lack of norms of marry disabled persons 43 27.9 Ignore persons with disability from negotiation 32 20.8 All*, 47 30.5 Total 154 100.0 (Source: Field Survey, 2022/2023) All respondents refer to strong cultural attitudes that prevent many parents from admitting to having a child with disabilities. The stigma and taboo surrounding disability mean parents are ashamed and try to hide their child. There was a widespread belief that any type of disability equates with a diminished intellectual capacity. Gender inequality in society, girls with disabilities are doubly stigmatized; “they have the double stigma of being a girl and disabled,” which was consistent with the findings of Fefoame ( 2009 ). According to Fefoame ( 2009 ), unsubstantiated pronouncements from members of society and the family unavoidably lead to the abuse of the fundamental human rights of both the child and the family. Male focus group/MFG participants state that people with disabilities had inadequate acceptance culturally due to misconceptions around cultural and religious beliefs; for example, disabled people do not participate in negotiation; culturally, they do not pray to God in meetings, and in the Gada system, also disabled persons do not travel the river before persons without disabilities. So, PWD don’t have acceptance in cultural participation. Additionally, misconception about culture related to marriages was the major challenge for persons with disabilities. A male whose age is 45 said that “I married a non-disabled woman at that time, and conflict happened between my wife and her family regarding the marriage she made with me. Because of this reason, she is still now separated from her family. I have six children now; out of these, four have disabilities, and the left two are non-disabled. From these two non-disabilities, one married, but she was also challenged by her husband’s family because her parents are persons with disabilities. So, these misconceptions around cultural perception changed still now. Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities Disability has gained recognition as a development issue at the international level (Sherraden et, al. 2006). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) provides vast opportunities to increase awareness of disability around the world. The convention was based on the social model of disability, which focuses upon equal access, social opportunities, health, education, employment, political, economic, and social development, and elimination of legal and social barriers (McClain-Nhlapo, 2010 ). The current opportunities for persons with disabilities There are major opportunities for persons with disabilities. Some of these are the presence of policy on disabilities, the presence of a constitution that concerns disabilities, and the presence of affirmative action for persons with disabilities. According to the survey results, about 94 (61%) of respondents responded that the presence of policy on disabilities, the presence of a constitution that concerns disabilities, and the presence of affirmative action for persons with disabilities were the main available opportunities for PWD. The data obtained through key informant interviews from stakeholder officials also strengthen the result of this survey data (See Table 7 below). Table 7 The current opportunities for persons with disabilities What are the opportunities of persons with disabilities? Frequency Percent The presence of policy on disabilities 28 18.2 The presence of constitution that concern disabilities 15 9.7 The presence of Affirmative action for persons with disabilities 17 11.0 All* 94 61.0 Total 154 100.0 (Source: Field Survey, 2022/2023) The results from the focus group state that they have a right and equal opportunity to participate in every activity that was explained in many proclamations and policies. The results from key informant interviews reveal that the government now gives attention to persons with disabilities and different policies and strategies developed on the issues of persons with disabilities, which was considered as one opportunity for persons with disabilities. The government of Ethiopia has adopted and implemented a number of laws and policies for persons with disabilities, including their right to productive and decent work. The presence of policy has a great role for persons with disabilities, but their implementations were poor as the result of KII reveals. Proclamation concerning the right of employment for persons with disabilities, No. 568/2008, makes null and void any law, practice, custom, attitude, or other discriminatory situation that limits equal opportunities for persons with disabilities. In other ways, the political reform done by the current prime minister that brings incremental attention to PWD was also another opportunity, as the prime minister’s first speech illustrates. Following this, PwDs associations jointly facilitated their lives like everyone else; their access to obtain land for housing and offices were some opportunities currently available and enabled them to run their future lives. It also mentioned that the negative attitudes of communities and family of persons with disabilities were changed based on these opportunities. Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) 2010–2015: establishing disability as a cross-cutting sector of development where focus is given to preventing disability and to providing education and training, rehabilitation, and equal access and opportunities to persons with disabilities. It addresses the needs of persons with disabilities in Ethiopia for comprehensive reliability services, equal opportunities for education, skill training, and work, as well as full participation in the life of their families, communities, and the nation. The framework document of 2009 provides for special needs education (SNE) in technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Constitution of the federal republic of Ethiopia; adapted in 1995. Article 41(5) of the constitution sets out the state responsibility for the provision of the necessary rehabilitation and support services for persons with disabilities. Proclamation concerning the right of employment for persons with disabilities, No. 568/2008, makes null and void any law, practices, customs, attitudes, and other discriminatory situations that limit equal opportunities for persons with disabilities, require affirmative actions, and give training. The Federal civil servant proclamation No.515/2007 provides for special preference in the recruitment, promotion, and development, among other things, of qualified candidates with disabilities. In any competition, they had 4 points as an affirmative action, which was taken as opportunities for them. These provisions were applicable to government offices only. Life history of persons with disabilities Box 1: Female Resident in Chobi Sirba Kebele of Chobi District I have been living in Chobi Sirba kebeles. I was born with a disability of the right hand. My parents have 6 (six) children; from six, I’m the disabled one. When I asked my family about the cause of my disability, they told me it was a punishment of God; also, they take the reason to the traditional religion “kalu.” I believe that “disability means not mindless, “but few people perceive disability as useless, very weak, and hopeless. Based on this perception, when I hear from my parents, my parents protect/hide me for 10 years at home because they are ashamed of my disability. After 10 years I go to school and start my education. I became a clever student and obtained good results except in Drowning and sports subjects since my right hand is disabled. At that time my drowning and sport teachers had no knowledge about the presence of affirmative action for students with disabilities and no support was given for persons with disabilities. This is the biggest challenge for me and reduces my results. I adapted to my challenges. I completed grade 10 after this, but because of economic challenges, I didn’t continue my education. I seek jobs by competition using my grade 10 results, but I don’t get that chance; they ignore me for reasons of my disability. Some persons ask me, what do you do with one hand?" At that time I’m very sad and cry to myself. Another challenge is environmental challenges; social challenges, and also cultural challenges have impacts on persons with disabilities. For example, now I’m 32 years old and unmarried because of the cultural norms of persons with disabilities regarding marriage. My disability makes both my life and my vision dark. The key challenges of PWD are financial constraints, insecurity of livelihood, problems of shelter, and health services. At this time I do day-to-day work in low incentive by working ‘ enjara’ by left hand, and cleaning home and washing cloth is difficult with one hand. Until now I haven’t gotten any support from the government or non-government. In the future, when the government and nongovernment bodies support me, I try to create my own job, like trade in a shop. Female resident of Chobi Sirba village, age: 32 Box 2. Male residence of Dire Kebana village of Chobi District I have been living in Dire Kebana villages. I was born with dwarfism. I have information that my parents were ashamed of me and protected/hid me at home for 12 years. After these years, when people see me outside as a new human being, they laugh at me. Because there is no person having such a physical appearance like me in the village, also in the districts. At that time my parents were not supportive of my education, but with the support of our neighbor, I went to school. When I went to school, another challenge happened: all the students told each other’s stories, and they laughed at me. I’m also very ashamed of myself, and I’m crying. Always during break time, students disturb me, and they shout loudly and disturb the school. For these reasons, at break time I don’t go outside. I sit alone in the classroom because our friends have a negative perception of me and don’t voluntarily play with me. Also they saw my disability as a transmitted disease. Some students are afraid to sit near me. I learned with these challenges up to grade 1-8.When I went to secondary school, new students came. From rural schools I’m also a new man for them always. When they saw me, they shouted to me as a crazy person. Because of this I become hopeless, and also I try to take action on my life. By this case I drop out of my education. All of these challenges came from a lack of separate classes or the absence of special needs schools for children with disabilities. After one year I start my education, and I complete grade 10, but I am not successful in starting grade 11. Now I’m hopeless and jobless. My father does weaving work. I help him at home. There are many challenges for persons with disabilities, like social exclusion challenges. When my parent calls for a wedding, ceremonies, and celebration by our neighbor, no one calls me. That means there was low acceptance of persons with disabilities. I’m still unmarried now because of my disability. I’m ashamed of myself for asking girls. But now I’m hopeless for marriage because my life is also dependent on my parents; I don’t have any incentive or income. In the future, I think I will do wood and metal work, but my challenge is financial constraints. If I got support from governments and non-governmental organizations, I would work and change my life. Male resident of Dire Kebana village, age: 32 Box 3: Male resident of Chobi Sirba village of Chobi district I have been living in Chobi Sirba kebeles. I was born with the disability of a left leg. My parents have 16 children, and among them I’m the disabled one. As my parents told me, they tried to kill me at that time/in childhood. My name at that time is in Oromic: ’Du’a diddee, which means’Say no o die." My family ignores me from my families and protects/hides me at home if some persons ask the number of their children. They don’t count me. I mean that I was not counted in the Ethiopian national census because of my parents’ misconception and shame about me and hid me. I wish I could go to school, but my parents are not willing, and the distance from our home to school is another challenge for me. Now I can’t read and write. After 23 years I start to do poultry work, and I got a wife, and we start living with her. The parents of my wife challenge her, saying why she married a person with a disability; still now there is no relation between them. Now we have 7 (seven children); from 7, 4 (four) are disabled in two hands and legs. With me, there are 5 (five) persons with disabilities in one home. Still now I don’t know the cause of this case. From the two children, one non-disabled girl married, but her husband’s family challenges her life. The chance of my children coming to bad condition. From the four disabilities, one got support from non-government T. Shire, giving a wincher for him. The left three children do not move place to place without the support of another person. They go to the toilet cared for by people, also not wearing their clothes. We live in a dark life now; we got to build a house from Chobi Sirba kebeles by the support of the woreda head office. Now we try to do our own work and get out from private life, so we found support from the government, NGOs, private individuals, and individual persons. Male resident of Chobi Sirba village, age: 55 Box 4. Female resident of Dire Kebena village of Chobi district I have been living in Dire Kebena kebeles. My disability is after birth. As my parents told me in childhood, I burned by warm water. At that time, my family was economically poor. I don’t get treatment for this reason: my two legs come to be useless. Because of my disability, my father separated from my mother. Always she said her challenge came from your low protection for children. She is also ashamed of me and sees me as her enemy. I start to move my two hands on earth. One day the day was Ethiopian New Year celebration. As Oromo culture, the day of that day was celebrated by girls; it was called “kame/Kune“. When I go to that holy day with my friends, they ignore me and say to me, ’Frog, where are you going?’ and laugh at me. I was also very cry at that time. When I was 13 years old, my mother carried me and took me to urban areas, and she lost me near the road, and then I started to pray, and at night I slept under some garden. After two years someone raped me, taking my dignity, and I got a child. When he saw the child, he lost me. I carry that child, and I pray after six months my child dies. After three years, I make relations with other males. I get a child; also, that child dies. In general, I got 5 (five) children from them; 4 (four) died, and only one was left. The cause of death of my child was due to lack of treatment and lack of diet. Female disability has double discrimination; for example, it is very challenging to give care for a child. Because of my disability, my husband divorced me. I live now in bad condition; individual persons give me keranch. That wrench has broken so. I moved it for the first time by my hands. This life is very difficult. On holy days my neighbors help me with money and material. Also, if I get support, I do it in the shop and change my bad life condition. Female resident of Dire Kebena village, age: 45 IV. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusion : These studies assess the challenges and opportunities of persons with disabilities. Regarding the challenges that PWD faces throughout their course of life, the researcher observed that their life and housing condition were very difficult when related to persons without disabilities. They were vulnerable to disease, and they didn’t get adequate health services due to their poverty and their disability. Concerning economic challenges, most persons with disabilities were experienced with financial problems, and as a result, they live in and have major economic problems. Supports that persons with disabilities received from government bodies were poor, especially financial support. Concerning social challenges, they experienced social exclusions in participating in social entities like Idir and Mahaber , as well as regarding marriage and the absence of special needs education for persons with disabilities. For these reasons, most of the children with disabilities are out of school. Cultural and religious beliefs were also other challenges for persons with disabilities. Even families of persons with disabilities are ashamed for having children with disabilities, and as a result, they hide at home. Most people have misconceptions about persons with disabilities, in which they believe that disability is punishment from God, bad doing, breaking laws, and disease, and these perceptions come from misunderstanding the cause of disabilities. Regarding political challenges, the rights of persons with disabilities are omitted based on a lack of acceptance in communities. The participation and political empowerment of persons with disabilities were very low due to lack of education, unconsciousness, mistreatment, self-confidence, and hopelessness of persons with disabilities themselves. As to opportunities for PWD, governmental policy and strategies on persons with disabilities were formulated, but most of them were only on paper and had a problem with implementations. Opportunities for persons with disabilities in the study area were great improvements to positive attitudes of some people for persons with disabilities, presence of disability teamwork, presence of policy on disability, presence of affirmative action for persons with disabilities, and presence of labor and social affairs in the study areas. The current interventional supports for persons with disabilities in the study area were poor. The majorities of persons with disabilities live based on their families and depend on others. Some of them were beggars and lacked homes because of a lack of adequate supports. According to the findings of this study, PWD obtain interventional supports from their family, like food, clothing, and home; they live together. Similarly, PWD obtain interventional support at the governmental level, including training and awareness; a few of the PwDs get public houses, and some of them got the housing place. Additionally, PWD obtain interventional support from non-governmental organizations. For instance, Cheshire organization gives wheelchairs to very victimized persons with disabilities. Religious organizations like the Briana Kiristos Church support educational materials and uniforms for children of families of the victims or persons with disabilities. Generally, this support is seen as the superlative put into practice. On the other hand, support given for persons with disabilities is very little in the study area. Recommendation : A range of specific issues emerges from this study that urgently need to be addressed in order for extremely poor disabled people to be adequately supported in income generation and protected from discrimination as they work to improve their lives. The following provides a summary of some important program-level and policy-level recommendations that emerge from this study. In response to respondents, the major challenges of persons with disabilities are economic challenges like financial constraints, lack of shelters, and unemployment; social challenges (stigma and misconceptions about the marriages of persons with disabilities); and unacceptance of political participation. Therefore, non-governmental organizations should plan and support fundraising and solve the obstacles of financial constraints. As a government body, the district administrators should solve the problem of shelters by facilitating the kebeles’ housing for those with special problems and organizing them into associations and awareness as they can create their own self-employment by facilitating places of work and loans from different sources. Stigmas, misconceptions, and ignorance of persons with disabilities, which resulted from a lack of awareness, so government and non-government organizations should promote public awareness and empower persons with disabilities in all aspects. As revealed by the results of this study, there are opportunities for persons with disabilities at national and district levels—the presence of policy and strategies but, they are only limited at the paper level without being practically implemented, which makes persons with disabilities disadvantaged in the available opportunities. So, the district administrators should apply all available opportunities to make all PwDs advantageous that can empower them in all activities within communities. Persons with disabilities get inadequate material support, which includes wheelchair, kireanch, and etc. health services support, educational support, financial support, and basic needs support. Lack of these supports makes these PwDs live under the extremely poor that put them in multifaceted problems. So, government and nongovernmental bodies should take part to intervene and support all PwDs, particularly those who have difficulties of living. Guidance and counseling should be given for those PwDs who had psychological problems, and all stakeholders should treat and support them positively and fairly, following the rules and regulations that concern PwDs. Declarations Acknowledgements The authors wish to express their sincere gratitude to all organizations and persons for their full cooperation in providing necessary data and information in the research process. Our special thanks also go to anonymous reviewers and editors of the journal for their efficient and effective management of the review and publication process of manuscript. Contributions DAH : conceptualization, data analysis, final drafting, data cleaning and editing, and approved for submission. BDI : initial drafting, literature review, and editing. TTD : conceptualization, final drafting, interpretation and review. Funding This research article was no having sources of funds or financial support from other bodies. Availability of data and materials All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in these published papers:- .https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf, https://www.metaappz.com/References/ethiopian_laws/federal/pr_515_2007/en/pdf https://ethiodata.et/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Ethiopian-Building-Proclamation-No.-624_2009.pdf Ethics Declarations Ethical Approval All procedures performed in studies involves human participants were in accordance with ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards. Ethical approval for this study was obtained from the Ethiopia ethical standards committee, last modification 2015-08-10T06:03:19Z http://www.sewist.org.et/documents?p_p_id=20&p_p_lifecycle=0&p_p_state=normal&p_p_mode=view&p_p_col_id=column- Informed Consent All study participants gave their informed consent in writing and publication. Conflict Interest The authors fully declare that they have no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript. Corresponding Author Correspondence to: Disasa Ararsa Hordofa Clinical trial number This paper was not applicable of clinical trial. Additional Information Publisher’s Note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Rights and Permission Springer nature or its licensor hold exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the authors or other right holder(s), Authors self- archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and application law. References African Child Policy Forum (2011). Children with Disabilities in Ethiopia: The Hidden Reality. Addis Ababa: ACPF Allen, J., Cohen, N., (2010). The road to inclusion: Integrating people with disabilities into the workplace. Deloitte, Toronto Chobi District Agricultural development and Natural resource management office (2022): Office Report. Unpublished Report Chobi District Finance and Economy Development (2023) Office Report. Unpublished Report Chobi Woreda Labor and Social Affairs (2022). Office Report Unpublished Report. Erickson, W. A., von Schrader, S., Bruyère, S. M., & VanLooy, S. A. (2014). The employment environment: Employer perspectives, policies, and practices regarding the employment of persons with disabilities. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 57(4), 195–208. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 0034355213509841 Fefoame, G. O. (2009). Barriers to education: A voice from the field. Gaudiano, P., Hunt, E., (2017). 10 Tips for Unlocking the Talent and Potential of Employees with Disabilities. Forbes, Accessed September 09, 2017 https://www.forbes.com/sites/gaudianohunt/2017/06/12/workplace-disability-tips/#710c30404df4 Grech, S., & Soldatic, K. (Eds.). (2016). Disability in the Global South: The Critical Handbook. Springer. Gudlavalleti, V. S. M. (2018). Challenges in accessing health care for people with disabilities in the South Asian context: A review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(11), 2366. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112366 Mailwane, N. (2017). Ecosystemic factors that influence accessibility to ECD services for young children with disabilities in South Africa. Unpublished PhD thesis. Pretoria: University of Pretoria. McClain-Nhlapo, C.(2010).Mainstreaming and inclusive development. Poverty and Disability. London: Leonard Cheshire Disability. Morath, E., (2019). America’s hidden workforce returns, The Wall Street Journal, Dated January 26th 2019, Accessed on June 12 th 2019 from https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-hidden-workforce-returns- 11548478801 Nario-Redmond, M. R. (2010). Cultural stereotypes of disabled and non-disabled men and women: Consensus for global category representations and diagnostic domains. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49(3), 471–488. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466609X468411 Ndzwayiba, N. A. (2017). Doing human differently: A critical study of appraised diversity discourses in corporate South Africa [Doctoral dissertation, Witwatersrand University]. Nkomo, N., & Marucchi, D. (2020). Rural Young Children with Disabilities: Education, Challenges, and Opportunities . 2 (2), 134–145. Ocran, J. (2022). “There is something like a barrier”: Disability stigma, structural discrimination, and middle-class persons with disabilities in Ghana. Cogent Social Sciences , 8 (1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2084893 Pal, G. C. (2011). Disability, intersectionality, and deprivation: An excluded agenda. Psychology and Developing Societies, 23 (2), 159–176. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 097133361102300202 Sherraden, M. S., Stringham, J., Sow, S. C., & McBride, A. M. (2006). The forms and structure of international voluntary service. Voluntas: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations, 17(2), 156-173. Wardak, A., Faiz, I. M., & Turmusani, M. (2003). Disability policy development in Afghanistan: towards a barrier-free society. UNESCAP, Bangkok . Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Posted Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6392011","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":459235605,"identity":"f5ab6c49-20eb-4eb2-af44-b4f875114058","order_by":0,"name":"Disasa Ararsa","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAA8ElEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDCCwxBKjo29/eADIIOHj1gtxvw8Z5INQFrYCGo5AKESZ85IMJMAsQhq4TvO/vDjj5p7jBsOJKRVfs2xk2FjYH746AYeLZKHeYyleY4VMxscOHjstuy2ZKDD2IyNc/BoMTjMwyDNwJbAZnCwIe225DZmoBYeNmn8Wtgf//zxL4HH4DCDWbHktnpitDCYSfC2JUhItjGYMX7cdpiwFqBfzKx5+xIM+Hl4kqUZtx3nYWMm4Be+88cf3/zxLaG+Tf75wY8/t1Xb87M3P3yMTwsKYOYBk8QqBwHGH6SoHgWjYBSMghEDADElRq2lzMHtAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Wollega University","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Disasa","middleName":"","lastName":"Ararsa","suffix":""},{"id":459235606,"identity":"f5324c2b-96c3-44e1-8f99-50141debf506","order_by":1,"name":"Beyene Dugassa","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Wollega University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Beyene","middleName":"","lastName":"Dugassa","suffix":""},{"id":459235608,"identity":"9d2a5c83-800b-4e15-b5e9-5e443840d64b","order_by":2,"name":"Tesfaye Tura","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Wollega University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tesfaye","middleName":"","lastName":"Tura","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-04-07 08:38:21","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6392011/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6392011/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":83223045,"identity":"64fe4a28-6937-460d-9e65-f3fbf6324f72","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-05-21 10:43:28","extension":"png","order_by":1,"title":"Figure 1","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"figure","size":358933,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"\u003cp\u003eUnnumbered image in the II. MATERIAL AND METHODS section.\u003c/p\u003e","description":"","filename":"1.png","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6392011/v1/72f615cb1294cfb6a2bc46c7.png"},{"id":100975387,"identity":"a57725e8-31e2-4967-b148-69a4d4505c54","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-01-23 10:56:01","extension":"pdf","order_by":0,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1709691,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"manuscript.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6392011/v1/33c91c4f-cfab-427e-a733-8495f4ae3ad5.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Household Challenges and Opportunities of Persons With Disabilities in Two Selected Villages of Chobi District, West Shoa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia","fulltext":[{"header":"I. INTRODUCTION","content":"\u003cp\u003eCapacity from people with disabilities is essential in light of the labor deficit (Gaudiano and Hunt, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR8\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e; Morath, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR13\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2019\u003c/span\u003e). In many developing nations, the predicament of young disabled children living in rural areas is still unresolved. Many people have unfavorable cultural views regarding the causes of impairments. Disability may be linked to witchcraft, demonic spirits, ancestral spirits, or punishment from the gods because of the mother's pregnant infidelity (Ocran, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR17\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2022\u003c/span\u003e). In many African societies, children with disabilities are sometimes viewed with suspicion. According to Mailwane (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR11\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e), when it comes to children with disabilities and their families, societies respond with fear, anxiety, dread, disgust, hostility, and demeaning behavior. This response frequently results in the exclusion of impaired children as well as prejudice and discrimination against their rights and privileges. Depending on the type of handicap, these children are either regarded with respect and appreciation or negatively, with derision, according to the African Child Policy Forum (ACPF, 2011).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe phenomenon of discrimination against people with impairments is not limited to interpersonal relationships. It also has an equally oppressive structural component. Even in settings and situations where individual discrimination might not exist, structural discrimination can nonetheless take place. Because structural discrimination is not always readily apparent, it is difficult to pass laws against it (Nkomo \u0026amp; Marucchi, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). People with disabilities suffer discrimination not only from their interactions with others or from the behavior of people, but also from the normative systems and institutional structures of organizations including schools, religious organizations, workplaces, and the service sector (Nkomo \u0026amp; Marucchi, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR16\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2020\u003c/span\u003e). Persons with disabilities are among the least fortunate members of any society. (Erickson et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR6\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2014\u003c/span\u003e; Grech \u0026amp; Soldatic, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR9\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2016\u003c/span\u003e; and Gudlavalleti, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR10\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2018\u003c/span\u003e). They typically either stay in lower socioeconomic strata or struggle to leave the oppression that the disability identity evokes because of the stigma and discrimination they face. Nonetheless, individuals with impairments are not a monolithic group. Several social identities and the social positions they hold allow for their differentiation (Nario-Redmond, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR14\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e; Pal, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR18\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2011\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe rehabilitation discourse is constantly shaped by the various theories and models that question the concept of disability. These theories help define impairment and provide guidance for interventions that address the issue of disability. (Ndzwayiba, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR15\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2017\u003c/span\u003e). Disability is often perceived as a hindrance to employment. According to a recent Deloitte consulting research on the inclusion of people with disabilities, there are significant obstacles in the workplace. These include discriminatory hiring practices, unfavorable attitudes toward people with disabilities, a lack of technology support, and a lack of disability education conducted by businesses. Active management of these obstacles is necessary since failure to do so may prevent companies from making use of people's abilities. To get over these obstacles, both accommodation and technology are employed. (Allen and Cohen, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR2\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eEven though there were some studies on the challenges and opportunities of inclusivity on the livelihoods of persons with disabilities in Ethiopia, studies on the challenges and opportunities of community and environmental barriers for persons with disabilities are scant. This is particularly true of the study area. As far as the researcher\u0026rsquo;s reading concerns, there was no previous literature conducted related to household perception, challenges, and opportunities of persons with disabilities in the study area. This study therefore attempts to assess\u0026rsquo; household challenges and opportunities of persons with disabilities in the study area. The specific objectives of the study were to investigate challenges of persons with disabilities in the study area and to explore opportunities for persons with disabilities in the study area. The research questions of this study were: What are the challenges of persons with disabilities in the study area? And what are the opportunities for persons with disabilities in the study area?\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe contributions of this study were that it was used to identify household challenges and opportunities of persons with disabilities and come across with relevant solutions and recommendations. In other words, it was used as an input for policy makers, planners, and development practitioners. Similarly, it may initiate government and all other stakeholders to reconsider their policy and process in attitude toward persons with disabilities and their challenges program. It was also alarming to the administrators to think about what might be constructed in inclusion for persons with disabilities. Moreover, it may help as a reference for other studies in the area with similar or other themes of study.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"II. MATERIAL AND METHODS","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eDescription of the study area\u003c/b\u003e: Chobi District is located in the west Shoa Administrative Zone of the Oromia Regional State at about 138 kilometers (km) distance from Addis Ababa and 90 kilometers (km) distance from Ambo Town. It is bounded to the North by Abuna Gindeberet and Gindeberet, in the South by Elfeta, in the East by Jeldu, and in the West by Ambo Woreda. Chobi district has 11 rural kebeles and one municipality, and the study concerns the rural area.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to the Chobi Woreda Finance and Economy Development Office (2023), agro-climatically, the district is divided into highland, mid-highland, and lowland, which account for 27%, 56%, and 17%, respectively. The district has a total population of 65,482, of which 32,085 are males and 33,397 are females. The major economic activities are agriculture, in which 95% of labor forces are engaged. Mixed agriculture, which is characterized by crop production and livestock husbandry, is the predominant economic activity and the major source of livelihood in the study area. Crop production is mostly dependent on rain-fed and major crops produced in the area: wheat, barley, beans, maize, teff, sorghum, and some vegetables and fruits were also grown mainly in the rural area of the district. Livestock husbandry is one of the important livelihood resources, particularly in the lowland areas of the district. Cattle, goats, sheep, donkeys, and poultry are among the major types of livestock reared in the study area. (\u003cem\u003eChobi woreda Agricultural Office, 2022)\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eResearch Design, sampling methods and procedures\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eA multistage sampling procedure was implemented to select sample representatives. In the first stage, districts were purposively selected based on the vulnerability and isolation of the persons with disabilities in the area, as well as the fact that the persons with disabilities situation may not be the same throughout the country, even within the same region. So, wide ranges of studies about persons with disabilities at the micro level were essential to achieve a certain conclusion. In the second stage, samples of PAs were selected purposively depending on their degrees of persons with disabilities and the challenges faced by persons with disabilities at that time (rough estimation of persons with disabilities made by Chobi district labor and social affair office report, 2022). Accordingly, the most disabled were marginalized and isolated from societies in two rural villages of the study district (Dire Kebena and Chobi Sirba) that were selected purposively. Finally, 154 sample respondents were selected by using the random sampling technique, and 154 respondents were identified using the Yamane formula.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eData Types and Sources; Methods of data collection; and methods of data analysis\u003c/strong\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe study utilized both primary and secondary data types from primary and secondary sources, respectively. Scheduled interviews, key informant interviews, personal observations, and life histories were employed as methods of primary data collection. Accordingly, a scheduled interview was employed to collect primary data from 154 rural households in two rural villages of the district with the help of data collection instruments. To complement the quantitative data collected through the interview schedule, the researchers also employed focus group discussion, key informant interviews, personal observation, and life history methods to collect the qualitative data from participants. The primary data collected from the fieldwork were also complemented by the secondary data collected from the secondary sources in order to bridge the information gap from primary sources.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWith regard to methods of data analysis, both qualitative and quantitative methods of data analysis were employed to analyze the data. To investigate the challenges of persons with disabilities and to explore opportunities for persons with disabilities, the qualitative data captured through focus group discussions, key informant interviews, personal observations, and life histories were transcribed, interpreted, and analyzed in the form of descriptions and narrations by employing thematic content analysis. Data collected through scheduled interviews were analyzed with the help of simple descriptive statistics (percentage and frequency). Accordingly, percentages and frequencies were employed to summarize quantitative data with the help of SPSS Software (SPSS version 23 software) and Microsoft Excel 2010.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"III. RESULT AND DISCUSSION","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eDemographic and Socio-economic characteristics of respondents\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSurveyed results show that 50.0% of sampled respondents were between 40\u0026ndash;50 years, followed by 32.5% between 29\u0026ndash;39 years, 7.8% in the age category 18\u0026ndash;28, and 9.7% in the age category above 50 years. 59.7% of sampled respondents were from male-headed households, while 40.3% of them were from female-headed households. The family size of sampled respondents was found to be 4\u0026ndash;6 members of families, 55.2%; 1\u0026ndash;3, 7\u0026ndash;9, and above samples of respondents were 30.5%, 13.0%, and 1.4%, respectively. Education level sampled of respondents: 25.10% were unable to read and write, 22.1% were certificate and above, 16% can read and write, while 14.3% attended grades 1\u0026ndash;4, and the rest sampled of respondents: 9.5% attended grades 5\u0026ndash;8, and also 7.5% and 5.4% were grades 9\u0026ndash;10 (secondary school) and 11\u0026ndash;12 (preparatory school), respectively. Marital status of sampled respondents: 77% were married, and the rest of them were unmarried, divorced, and widowed, which accounts for 9.1%, 6.5%, and 7.1%, respectively. According to the surveyed data, out of the total respondents, 33.1% of respondents were self-employed, followed by farmers, laborers, and employees, which account for 28.6%, 25.3%, and 13.0%, respectively. From these, the majority of the respondents were self-employed.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eChallenges of Persons with Disability\u003c/b\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eThe major Economic challenges of persons with disabilities\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere are major economic challenges those persons with disabilities are facing in the study area as revealed by surveyed results. Some of these were problems of shelter, financial constraints, livelihood insecurity, and unemployment. According to the survey result, about 35.1% of respondents stated the main economic challenges persons with disabilities encountered in the study area were problems of shelter, financial constraints, livelihood insecurity, and unemployment (\u003cb\u003esee\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab1\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e1\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ebelow\u003c/b\u003e). Similarly, the researcher asked the focus group participants regarding the major challenges that persons with disabilities faced. Then they stated that the major challenges they encountered were the problems of shelter, financial constraints, unemployment, insecurity of livelihood, and difficulty of getting a job.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThis finding is consistent with previous studies that persons with disabilities encountered financial constraints, which was in line with the research findings of Wardak and his colleagues (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e). According to Wardak and his colleagues (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e), PwDs have limited formal or informal employment opportunities; the absence of income and lack of access to finances and safety nets are major challenges for disabled people\u0026rsquo;s livelihoods (Wardak et al., \u003cspan citationid=\"CR20\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2003\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab1\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 1\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe economic challenges of persons with disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEconomic challenges for persons with Disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProblem of shelter\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnemployment\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFinancial constraints\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLivelihood insecurity\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e54\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e(Source: Field Survey, 2022/2023)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eThe key informant interviews findings reveal a sense of uncertainty of persons with disabilities \u0026ldquo;about their livelihood. The prevalence of not getting regular jobs, because of their disabilities, lack of acceptance, insufficient support, misperception, ignorance, and misunderstanding, caused a sense of insecurity about their livelihood.\u003c/em\u003e The insecurity of livelihood can pose the persons with disabilities\u0026rdquo; to concern that could in turn result in a life of poverty. Limited formal or informal employment opportunities, absence of income, and lack of access to finances and safety nets are major challenges for disabled people\u0026rsquo;s livelihoods (Wardak, 2003). Women are more marginalized than their male counterparts due to their disability as well as gender-specific challenges.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003e\u0026ldquo;I\u0026rsquo;m disabled. Women now have houses/shelters that I live in. I don\u0026rsquo;t have two legs. I move by my hands, how I do, and get money for house rents. I got five children from five; four died because of a lack of sufficient food, health care, financial support, etc. Also, my husband divorced me because of my disability.\u003c/em\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003ePolitical challenges of persons with disabilities\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to surveyed results, about 98 (66.7%) of respondents stated that people with disabilities and non-disabled people cannot participate equally in political and leadership activities, whereas only 49 (33.3%) of respondents replied they were participating \u003cb\u003e(See\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab2\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e2\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ebelow).\u003c/b\u003e The data obtained through FGD and key informant interviews, as well as from stakeholder officials, strengthen the result of the survey. From this result one can conclude that persons with disabilities were not participating equally in political leadership with persons without disabilities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab2\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 2\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePersons with disabilities and non-disabilities participate equally in political leaders\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePersons with disabilities and without disabilities participate equally in political leaders\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePresent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eYes\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e52\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e33.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eNo\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e102\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e66.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e(Source: Field Survey, 2022/2023)\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAccording to the survey results from the total 154 respondents, 59 (38.3%) of respondents responded that the political challenges of persons with disabilities were lack of acceptance by some people, 56 (36.4%) of them responded that lack of guarantee for free expression of the will of persons with disabilities was a political challenge of PWD, and 39 (25.3%) of respondents replied that absence of good political will was the main challenge of persons with disabilities \u003cb\u003e(See\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab3\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e3\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ebelow).\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab3\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 3\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe Political challenges for persons with Disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePolitical challenges of persons with disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAbsence of good political will for persons with disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e39\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e25.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLack of guarantee for free expression of the\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eWill of persons with disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e56\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e36.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLack of acceptance by some people\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e59\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e38.3\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e(Source: Field Survey data, 2022/2023)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results of FDG and KII regarding the key political challenges of persons with disabilities support the quantitative results, and one member of KKI reported that \u0026lsquo;In fact we can question the woreda administrators, particularly to participate in vote committees at kebeles and district levels based on our rights. Besides, even though the board committees at the district level are not volunteers to us, indirectly we can question them via our kebele councils, but practically they are neither accountable to the council nor to the people. Accountability is either to their bosses or to the party leaders. \u0026rsquo;Persons with disabilities are seen as mindless, so our political rights aren\u0026rsquo;t protected.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs the result of these findings, the political challenges facing women with disabilities include lack of education, self-confidence, and training regarding political rights; ignorance; and an acceptance that came from this discrimination and misconception about PwD\u0026rsquo;s capabilities. One participant of KII states that, \u0026ldquo;As a woman, I\u0026rsquo;m restricted to my house. I\u0026rsquo;m not allowed to go out frequently. Therefore I do not have any political ideas about the rights of PWD\u0026rdquo;. This lack of awareness regarding voting and elections could prevent them throughout the village, since most of PWD have not availed themselves of any government facilities except a few supports. The previous research supports these findings, which found that disabled people\u0026rsquo;s ignorance of existing entitlements further reduces their self-esteem and increases their dependency. The study found that extreme family control and lack of political power have made disabled people in the village voiceless and powerless (McClain-Nhlapo, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e).\u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eSocial challenges of persons with disabilities\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe survey results, the social challenges of persons with disabilities were the absence of special needs education for persons with disabilities, inadequate support for persons with disabilities, and challenges in social life (to participate in idir, wedding, and holyday), in which respondents replied 48 (32.2%), 35 (23.8%), and 14 (9.5%), respectively, and generally the respondents chose all 53 (34.0%) to show they were experienced by these challenges in their lives (\u003cb\u003eSee\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab4\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e4\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ebelow\u003c/b\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab4\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 4\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat are the social challenges for persons with Disabilities?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat are the social challenges for persons with Disabilities?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eChallenges on social life (participate in idier, wedding, holyday)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e14\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.1\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eInadequate support for person with disability\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e37\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e24.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAbsence of special need education for persons with disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e50\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll*,\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e53\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e34.4\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e(Source: Field Survey data, 2022/2023)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eYFG / Youth Focus Group / Participants said, \u0026ldquo;I really want to go to school, but there are no schools that can accept me. Sometimes they take my inability to speak well as a reason because no one has taught me how to speak. So I end up spending most of my time at home. When I see kids going to school, I envy them. However, my families don\u0026rsquo;t care about me; sometimes they told me that they have no money or there is no school for me. My unhappy days will never end.\u0026rdquo; Social factors such as stigma around disability also create barriers. The education of children with disabilities is challenged by the lack of understanding of all teachers about the principles of inclusive education, and a culture of inclusion within schools is not always well established despite political intent and commitment.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe mother of four (4) children with disabilities said that, \u003cem\u003e\u0026rsquo;from four two (2) girls with ages 12 and 7, have the problem of hearing and speaking. Noted: \u0026ldquo;Disabled girls are very shy compared to disabled boys and need special care. In our district there is no special education for children with disabilities, and because of this, all of them were out of school. I think for their future chance, like \u0026ldquo;The Chance for Childhood Education, Equality and Empowerment, and Learning Support Assistants for children with disabilities too. Recognize that disability has a profoundly more negative effect on girls than boys in a learning environment. This is mainly due to lower self-esteem, which affects girls\u0026rsquo; confidence at a very basic level, even with support.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e Some people perceive disability as evil, a bad fate, or the result of God\u0026rsquo;s punishment, and children with disabilities are often hidden at home by their parents. It is felt that many parents continue to be reluctant to enroll children with disabilities in a mainstream school as they fear the child will be rejected. Many parents of children in special placements do not want their children to be mainstreamed.\u003cdiv class=\"BlockQuote\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eEnvironmental challenges for persons with Disabilities\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe survey results indicate that 48.7% of respondents responded to the environmental challenges like distance from their service deliveries (health, school, etc.), 28.6% of respondents replied lack of infrastructure (road, health services), and 22.7% of respondents responded to an unfavorable environment for their employment (\u003cb\u003eSee\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab5\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e5\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ebelow\u003c/b\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab5\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 5\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eEnvironmental challenges for persons with Disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat are the Environmental challenges for persons with Disabilities?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eUnfavorable environment for their working conditions\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e35\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e22.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe distance from their service deliveries (health, school\u0026hellip;)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e75\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e48.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eLack of infrastructure ( road, health services)\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e44\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28.6\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e(Source: Field Survey data, 2019)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eSimilarly, the ideas of FDG and KII support the survey results. In focus group discussions of persons with disabilities, many challenges arise from these challenges, and the distance from their service deliveries (administration office, health, school, etc.) is the major challenge. Focus group participants said that \u0026lsquo;environmental challenges have an impact on persons with disabilities. Building Proclamation, No.624/2009 provides for accessibility in the design and construction of any building to ensure suitability for physically impaired persons, but the administrative office, place of meeting and training, school, and health services are not available for persons with disabilities. They also mentioned that people with disabilities, especially women with disabilities during pregnancy time, who live in rural areas haven\u0026rsquo;t accessed health services. In addition, bad road conditions and transport have limited their opportunities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eI\u0026rsquo;m 26 years old. My disability is physical disabilities. \u003cem\u003e\u0026lsquo;\u0026rsquo;I live in rural villages, and I learned only up to grade 8 due to the absence of secondary schools in our village and the distance of schools. By this challenge, I stopped my education. Now I try doing wood and metal work, but challenges like lack of electrical expansion in the rural village and an unfavorable environment for work.\u003c/em\u003e\u0026rsquo;\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe previous research report supports this idea, health conditions were affected by environmental factors such as low birth weight and a lack of essential dietary nutrients such as iodine or folic acid; the impact on the incidence and prevalence of health conditions associated with disability is most well established (UNCF, 2008).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eChallenges of Cultural and religious believe on persons with Disabilities\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere are major cultural challenges that PWD were facing in the study area. Some of these are protecting/hiding disabled persons at home/being ashamed of disabilities, lack of norms for marrying disabled persons, and ignoring persons with disabilities from negotiation. According to the survey results, about 30.5% of respondents stated that the main cultural challenges that PWD encountered included protecting/hiding disabled persons at home/being ashamed of disabilities, lack of norms for marrying disabled persons, and ignoring persons with disabilities from negotiation \u003cb\u003e(See\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab6\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e6\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ebelow).\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab6\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 6\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe major Cultural and religious challenges for persons with Disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat are the Cultural challenges for persons with Disabilities?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eProtect/hide persons with disability at home/being ashamed of disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003elack of norms of marry disabled persons\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e43\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e27.9\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eIgnore persons with disability from negotiation\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e32\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e20.8\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll*,\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e47\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e30.5\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e(Source: Field Survey, 2022/2023)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e All respondents refer to strong cultural attitudes that prevent many parents from admitting to having a child with disabilities. The stigma and taboo surrounding disability mean parents are ashamed and try to hide their child. There was a widespread belief that any type of disability equates with a diminished intellectual capacity. Gender inequality in society, girls with disabilities are doubly stigmatized; \u0026ldquo;they have the double stigma of being a girl and disabled,\u0026rdquo; which was consistent with the findings of Fefoame (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e). According to Fefoame (\u003cspan citationid=\"CR7\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2009\u003c/span\u003e), unsubstantiated pronouncements from members of society and the family unavoidably lead to the abuse of the fundamental human rights of both the child and the family.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMale focus group/MFG participants state that people with disabilities had inadequate acceptance culturally due to misconceptions around cultural and religious beliefs; for example, disabled people do not participate in negotiation; culturally, they do not pray to God in meetings, and in the Gada system, also disabled persons do not travel the river before persons without disabilities. So, PWD don\u0026rsquo;t have acceptance in cultural participation. Additionally, misconception about culture related to marriages was the major challenge for persons with disabilities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cem\u003eA male whose age is 45 said that \u0026ldquo;I married a non-disabled woman at that time, and conflict happened between my wife and her family regarding the marriage she made with me. Because of this reason, she is still now separated from her family. I have six children now; out of these, four have disabilities, and the left two are non-disabled. From these two non-disabilities, one married, but she was also challenged by her husband\u0026rsquo;s family because her parents are persons with disabilities. So, these misconceptions around cultural perception changed still now.\u003c/em\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eOpportunities for Persons with Disabilities\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eDisability has gained recognition as a development issue at the international level (Sherraden \u003cem\u003eet, al.\u003c/em\u003e 2006). The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD) provides vast opportunities to increase awareness of disability around the world. The convention was based on the social model of disability, which focuses upon equal access, social opportunities, health, education, employment, political, economic, and social development, and elimination of legal and social barriers (McClain-Nhlapo, \u003cspan citationid=\"CR12\" class=\"CitationRef\"\u003e2010\u003c/span\u003e).\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eThe current opportunities for persons with disabilities\u003c/b\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThere are major opportunities for persons with disabilities. Some of these are the presence of policy on disabilities, the presence of a constitution that concerns disabilities, and the presence of affirmative action for persons with disabilities. According to the survey results, about 94 (61%) of respondents responded that the presence of policy on disabilities, the presence of a constitution that concerns disabilities, and the presence of affirmative action for persons with disabilities were the main available opportunities for PWD. The data obtained through key informant interviews from stakeholder officials also strengthen the result of this survey data \u003cb\u003e(See\u003c/b\u003e Table\u0026nbsp;\u003cspan refid=\"Tab7\" class=\"InternalRef\"\u003e7\u003c/span\u003e \u003cb\u003ebelow).\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"gridtable\"\u003e\u003ctable float=\"Yes\" id=\"Tab7\" border=\"1\"\u003e \u003ccaption language=\"En\"\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionNumber\"\u003eTable 7\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"CaptionContent\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe current opportunities for persons with disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/div\u003e \u003c/caption\u003e \u003ccolgroup cols=\"3\"\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"left\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c1\" colnum=\"1\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c2\" colnum=\"2\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cdiv align=\"char\" char=\".\" class=\"colspec\" colname=\"c3\" colnum=\"3\"\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003cthead\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eWhat are the opportunities of persons with disabilities?\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eFrequency\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003cth align=\"left\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003ePercent\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/th\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/thead\u003e \u003ctbody\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe presence of policy on disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e28\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e18.2\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe presence of constitution that concern disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e15\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e9.7\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe presence of Affirmative action for persons with disabilities\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e17\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e11.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eAll*\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e94\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e61.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003ctr\u003e \u003ctd align=\"left\" colname=\"c1\"\u003e \u003cp\u003eTotal\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c2\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e154\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003ctd align=\"char\" char=\".\" colname=\"c3\"\u003e \u003cp\u003e100.0\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/td\u003e \u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tbody\u003e \u003c/colgroup\u003e \u003ctfoot\u003e \u003ctr\u003e\u003ctd colspan=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb\u003e(Source: Field Survey, 2022/2023)\u003c/b\u003e\u003c/td\u003e\u003c/tr\u003e \u003c/tfoot\u003e \u003c/table\u003e\u003c/div\u003e \u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe results from the focus group state that they have a right and equal opportunity to participate in every activity that was explained in many proclamations and policies. The results from key informant interviews reveal that the government now gives attention to persons with disabilities and different policies and strategies developed on the issues of persons with disabilities, which was considered as one opportunity for persons with disabilities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe government of Ethiopia has adopted and implemented a number of laws and policies for persons with disabilities, including their right to productive and decent work. The presence of policy has a great role for persons with disabilities, but their implementations were poor as the result of KII reveals. Proclamation concerning the right of employment for persons with disabilities, No. 568/2008, makes null and void any law, practice, custom, attitude, or other discriminatory situation that limits equal opportunities for persons with disabilities. In other ways, the political reform done by the current prime minister that brings incremental attention to PWD was also another opportunity, as the prime minister\u0026rsquo;s first speech illustrates.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eFollowing this, PwDs associations jointly facilitated their lives like everyone else; their access to obtain land for housing and offices were some opportunities currently available and enabled them to run their future lives. It also mentioned that the negative attitudes of communities and family of persons with disabilities were changed based on these opportunities. Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) 2010\u0026ndash;2015: establishing disability as a cross-cutting sector of development where focus is given to preventing disability and to providing education and training, rehabilitation, and equal access and opportunities to persons with disabilities. It addresses the needs of persons with disabilities in Ethiopia for comprehensive reliability services, equal opportunities for education, skill training, and work, as well as full participation in the life of their families, communities, and the nation. The framework document of 2009 provides for special needs education (SNE) in technical and vocational education and training (TVET). Constitution of the federal republic of Ethiopia; adapted in 1995. Article 41(5) of the constitution sets out the state responsibility for the provision of the necessary rehabilitation and support services for persons with disabilities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eProclamation concerning the right of employment for persons with disabilities, No. 568/2008, makes null and void any law, practices, customs, attitudes, and other discriminatory situations that limit equal opportunities for persons with disabilities, require affirmative actions, and give training. The Federal civil servant proclamation No.515/2007 provides for special preference in the recruitment, promotion, and development, among other things, of qualified candidates with disabilities. In any competition, they had 4 points as an affirmative action, which was taken as opportunities for them. These provisions were applicable to government offices only.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eLife history of persons with disabilities\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBox 1: Female Resident in Chobi Sirba Kebele of Chobi District\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;I have been living in Chobi Sirba kebeles. I was born with a disability of the right hand. My parents have 6 (six) children; from six, I\u0026rsquo;m the disabled one. When I asked my family about the cause of my disability, they told me it was a punishment of God; also, they take the reason to the traditional religion \u0026ldquo;kalu.\u0026rdquo; I believe that \u0026ldquo;disability means not mindless, \u0026ldquo;but few people perceive disability as useless, very weak, and hopeless. Based on this perception, when I hear from my parents, my parents protect/hide me for 10 years at home because they are ashamed of my disability. After 10 years I go to school and start my education. I became a clever student and obtained good results except in Drowning and sports subjects since my right hand is disabled. At that time my drowning and sport teachers had no knowledge about the presence of affirmative action for students with disabilities and no support was given for persons with disabilities. This is the biggest challenge for me and reduces my results. I adapted to my challenges. I completed grade 10 after this, but because of economic challenges, I didn\u0026rsquo;t continue my education. I seek jobs by competition using my grade 10 results, but I don\u0026rsquo;t get that chance; they ignore me for reasons of my disability. Some persons ask me, what do you do with one hand?\u0026quot; At that time I\u0026rsquo;m very sad and cry to myself. Another challenge is environmental challenges; social challenges, and also cultural challenges have impacts on persons with disabilities. For example, now I\u0026rsquo;m 32 years old and unmarried because of the cultural norms of persons with disabilities regarding marriage. My disability makes both my life and my vision dark. The key challenges of PWD are financial constraints, insecurity of livelihood, problems of shelter, and health services. At this time I do day-to-day work in low incentive by working \u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026lsquo;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/em\u003e\u003cem\u003eenjara\u0026rsquo;\u003c/em\u003e by left hand, and cleaning home and washing cloth is difficult with one hand. Until now I haven\u0026rsquo;t gotten any support from the government or non-government. In the future, when the government and nongovernment bodies support me, I try to create my own job, like trade in a shop.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFemale resident of Chobi Sirba village, age: 32\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBox 2. Male residence of Dire Kebana village of Chobi District\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI have been living in Dire Kebana villages. I was born with dwarfism. I have information that my parents were ashamed of me and protected/hid me at home for 12 years. After these years, when people see me outside as a new human being, they laugh at me. Because there is no person having such a physical appearance like me in the village, also in the districts. At that time my parents were not supportive of my education, but with the support of our neighbor, I went to school. When I went to school, another challenge happened: all the students told each other\u0026rsquo;s stories, and they laughed at me. I\u0026rsquo;m also very ashamed of myself, and I\u0026rsquo;m crying. Always during break time, students disturb me, and they shout loudly and disturb the school. For these reasons, at break time I don\u0026rsquo;t go outside. I sit alone in the classroom because our friends have a negative perception of me and don\u0026rsquo;t voluntarily play with me. Also they saw my disability as a transmitted disease. Some students are afraid to sit near me. I learned with these challenges up to grade 1-8.When I went to secondary school, new students came. From rural schools I\u0026rsquo;m also a new man for them always. When they saw me, they shouted to me as a crazy person. Because of this I become hopeless, and also I try to take action on my life. By this case I drop out of my education. All of these challenges came from a lack of separate classes or the absence of special needs schools for children with disabilities. After one year I start my education, and I complete grade 10, but I am not successful in starting grade 11. Now I\u0026rsquo;m hopeless and jobless. My father does weaving work. I help him at home. There are many challenges for persons with disabilities, like social exclusion challenges. When my parent calls for a wedding, ceremonies, and celebration by our neighbor, no one calls me. That means there was low acceptance of persons with disabilities. I\u0026rsquo;m still unmarried now because of my disability. I\u0026rsquo;m ashamed of myself for asking girls. But now I\u0026rsquo;m hopeless for marriage because my life is also dependent on my parents; I don\u0026rsquo;t have any incentive or income. In the future, I think I will do wood and metal work, but my challenge is financial constraints. If I got support from governments and non-governmental organizations, I would work and change my life.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMale resident of Dire Kebana village, age: 32\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBox 3: Male resident of Chobi Sirba village of Chobi district\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI have been living in Chobi Sirba kebeles. I was born with the disability of a left leg. My parents have 16 children, and among them I\u0026rsquo;m the disabled one. As my parents told me, they tried to kill me at that time/in childhood. My name at that time is in Oromic: \u0026rsquo;Du\u0026rsquo;a diddee, which means\u0026rsquo;Say no o die.\u0026quot; My family ignores me from my families and protects/hides me at home if some persons ask the number of their children. They don\u0026rsquo;t count me. I mean that I was not counted in the Ethiopian national census because of my parents\u0026rsquo; misconception and shame about me and hid me. I wish I could go to school, but my parents are not willing, and the distance from our home to school is another challenge for me. Now I can\u0026rsquo;t read and write. After 23 years I start to do poultry work, and I got a wife, and we start living with her. The parents of my wife challenge her, saying why she married a person with a disability; still now there is no relation between them. Now we have 7 (seven children); from 7, 4 (four) are disabled in two hands and legs. With me, there are 5 (five) persons with disabilities in one home. Still now I don\u0026rsquo;t know the cause of this case.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eFrom the two children, one non-disabled girl married, but her husband\u0026rsquo;s family challenges her life. The chance of my children coming to bad condition. From the four disabilities, one got support from non-government T. Shire, giving a wincher for him. The left three children do not move place to place without the support of another person. They go to the toilet cared for by people, also not wearing their clothes. We live in a dark life now; we got to build a house from Chobi Sirba kebeles by the support of the woreda head office. Now we try to do our own work and get out from private life, so we found support from the government, NGOs, private individuals, and individual persons.\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eMale resident of Chobi Sirba village, age: 55\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ctable cellpadding=\"0\" cellspacing=\"0\" width=\"100%\" class=\"fr-table-selection-hover\"\u003e\n \u003ctbody\u003e\n \u003ctr\u003e\n \u003ctd\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBox 4. Female resident of Dire Kebena village of Chobi district\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003eI have been living in Dire Kebena kebeles. My disability is after birth. As my parents told me in childhood, I burned by warm water. At that time, my family was economically poor. I don\u0026rsquo;t get treatment for this reason: my two legs come to be useless. Because of my disability, my father separated from my mother. Always she said her challenge came from your low protection for children. She is also ashamed of me and sees me as her enemy. I start to move my two hands on earth. One day the day was Ethiopian New Year celebration. As Oromo culture, the day of that day was celebrated by girls; it was called \u0026ldquo;kame/Kune\u0026ldquo;. When I go to that holy day with my friends, they ignore me and say to me, \u0026rsquo;Frog, where are you going?\u0026rsquo; and laugh at me. I was also very cry at that time. When I was 13 years old, my mother carried me and took me to urban areas, and she lost me near the road, and then I started to pray, and at night I slept under some garden. After two years someone raped me, taking my dignity, and I got a child. When he saw the child, he lost me. I carry that child, and I pray after six months my child dies. After three years, I make relations with other males. I get a child; also, that child dies. In general, I got 5 (five) children from them; 4 (four) died, and only one was left. The cause of death of my child was due to lack of treatment and lack of diet. Female disability has double discrimination; for example, it is very challenging to give care for a child. Because of my disability, my husband divorced me. I live now in bad condition; individual persons give me keranch. That wrench has broken so. I moved it for the first time by my hands. This life is very difficult. On holy days my neighbors help me with money and material. Also, if I get support, I do it in the shop and change my bad life condition.\u003cstrong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eFemale resident of Dire Kebena village, age: 45\u003c/strong\u003e\u0026nbsp;\u003c/p\u003e\n \u003c/td\u003e\n \u003c/tr\u003e\n \u003c/tbody\u003e\n\u003c/table\u003e"},{"header":"IV. CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS","content":"\u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eConclusion\u003c/b\u003e: These studies assess the challenges and opportunities of persons with disabilities. Regarding the challenges that PWD faces throughout their course of life, the researcher observed that their life and housing condition were very difficult when related to persons without disabilities. They were vulnerable to disease, and they didn\u0026rsquo;t get adequate health services due to their poverty and their disability. Concerning economic challenges, most persons with disabilities were experienced with financial problems, and as a result, they live in and have major economic problems. Supports that persons with disabilities received from government bodies were poor, especially financial support. Concerning social challenges, they experienced social exclusions in participating in social entities like \u003cem\u003eIdir\u003c/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eMahaber\u003c/em\u003e, as well as regarding marriage and the absence of special needs education for persons with disabilities. For these reasons, most of the children with disabilities are out of school. Cultural and religious beliefs were also other challenges for persons with disabilities. Even families of persons with disabilities are ashamed for having children with disabilities, and as a result, they hide at home.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eMost people have misconceptions about persons with disabilities, in which they believe that disability is punishment from God, bad doing, breaking laws, and disease, and these perceptions come from misunderstanding the cause of disabilities. Regarding political challenges, the rights of persons with disabilities are omitted based on a lack of acceptance in communities. The participation and political empowerment of persons with disabilities were very low due to lack of education, unconsciousness, mistreatment, self-confidence, and hopelessness of persons with disabilities themselves.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs to opportunities for PWD, governmental policy and strategies on persons with disabilities were formulated, but most of them were only on paper and had a problem with implementations. Opportunities for persons with disabilities in the study area were great improvements to positive attitudes of some people for persons with disabilities, presence of disability teamwork, presence of policy on disability, presence of affirmative action for persons with disabilities, and presence of labor and social affairs in the study areas.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThe current interventional supports for persons with disabilities in the study area were poor. The majorities of persons with disabilities live based on their families and depend on others. Some of them were beggars and lacked homes because of a lack of adequate supports. According to the findings of this study, PWD obtain interventional supports from their family, like food, clothing, and home; they live together. Similarly, PWD obtain interventional support at the governmental level, including training and awareness; a few of the PwDs get public houses, and some of them got the housing place. Additionally, PWD obtain interventional support from non-governmental organizations. For instance, Cheshire organization gives wheelchairs to very victimized persons with disabilities. Religious organizations like the Briana Kiristos Church support educational materials and uniforms for children of families of the victims or persons with disabilities. Generally, this support is seen as the superlative put into practice. On the other hand, support given for persons with disabilities is very little in the study area.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cb\u003eRecommendation\u003c/b\u003e: A range of specific issues emerges from this study that urgently need to be addressed in order for extremely poor disabled people to be adequately supported in income generation and protected from discrimination as they work to improve their lives. The following provides a summary of some important program-level and policy-level recommendations that emerge from this study.\u003c/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e \u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eIn response to respondents, the major challenges of persons with disabilities are economic challenges like financial constraints, lack of shelters, and unemployment; social challenges (stigma and misconceptions about the marriages of persons with disabilities); and unacceptance of political participation. Therefore, non-governmental organizations should plan and support fundraising and solve the obstacles of financial constraints. As a government body, the district administrators should solve the problem of shelters by facilitating the kebeles\u0026rsquo; housing for those with special problems and organizing them into associations and awareness as they can create their own self-employment by facilitating places of work and loans from different sources. Stigmas, misconceptions, and ignorance of persons with disabilities, which resulted from a lack of awareness, so government and non-government organizations should promote public awareness and empower persons with disabilities in all aspects.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003eAs revealed by the results of this study, there are opportunities for persons with disabilities at national and district levels\u0026mdash;the presence of policy and strategies but, they are only limited at the paper level without being practically implemented, which makes persons with disabilities disadvantaged in the available opportunities. So, the district administrators should apply all available opportunities to make all PwDs advantageous that can empower them in all activities within communities.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e \u003cp\u003ePersons with disabilities get inadequate material support, which includes wheelchair, kireanch, and etc. health services support, educational support, financial support, and basic needs support. Lack of these supports makes these PwDs live under the extremely poor that put them in multifaceted problems. So, government and nongovernmental bodies should take part to intervene and support all PwDs, particularly those who have difficulties of living. Guidance and counseling should be given for those PwDs who had psychological problems, and all stakeholders should treat and support them positively and fairly, following the rules and regulations that concern PwDs.\u003c/p\u003e \u003c/li\u003e \u003c/ul\u003e \u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"Declarations","content":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Acknowledgements\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors wish to express their sincere gratitude to all organizations and persons for their full cooperation in providing necessary data and information in the research process. Our special thanks also go to anonymous reviewers and editors of the journal for their efficient and effective management of the review and publication process of manuscript. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Contributions\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDAH\u003c/strong\u003e: conceptualization, data analysis, final drafting, data cleaning and editing, and approved for submission. \u003cstrong\u003eBDI\u003c/strong\u003e: initial drafting, literature review, and editing. \u003cstrong\u003eTTD\u003c/strong\u003e: conceptualization, final drafting, interpretation and review. \u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Funding\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis research article was no having sources of funds or financial support from other bodies.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Availability of data and materials\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll data generated or analyzed during this study are included in these published papers:- .https://www.un.org/disabilities/documents/convention/convoptprot-e.pdf, https://www.metaappz.com/References/ethiopian_laws/federal/pr_515_2007/en/pdf\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ehttps://ethiodata.et/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Ethiopian-Building-Proclamation-No.-624_2009.pdf\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Ethics Declarations\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Ethical Approval\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll procedures performed in studies involves human participants were in accordance with ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEthical approval for this study was obtained from the Ethiopia ethical standards committee, last modification 2015-08-10T06:03:19Z http://www.sewist.org.et/documents?p_p_id=20\u0026amp;p_p_lifecycle=0\u0026amp;p_p_state=normal\u0026amp;p_p_mode=view\u0026amp;p_p_col_id=column-\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Informed Consent \u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAll study participants gave their informed consent in writing and publication.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Conflict Interest\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe authors fully declare that they have no conflict of interest in publishing the manuscript.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Corresponding Author\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCorrespondence to: Disasa Ararsa Hordofa\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Clinical trial number\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis paper was not applicable of clinical trial.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eAdditional Information\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Publisher\u0026rsquo;s Note\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpringer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e Rights and Permission\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSpringer nature or its licensor hold exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the authors or other right holder(s), Authors self- archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and application law.\u003c/p\u003e"},{"header":"References","content":"\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAfrican Child Policy Forum (2011). Children with Disabilities in Ethiopia: The Hidden Reality. Addis Ababa: ACPF\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAllen, J., Cohen, N., (2010). The road to inclusion: Integrating people with disabilities into the workplace. Deloitte, Toronto\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChobi District Agricultural development and Natural resource management office (2022): Office Report. Unpublished Report\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChobi District Finance and Economy Development (2023) Office Report. Unpublished Report\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChobi Woreda Labor and Social Affairs (2022). Office Report Unpublished Report.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eErickson, W. A., von Schrader, S., Bruy\u0026egrave;re, S. M., \u0026amp; VanLooy, S. A. (2014). The employment environment: Employer perspectives, policies, and practices regarding the employment of persons with disabilities. Rehabilitation Counseling Bulletin, 57(4), 195\u0026ndash;208. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 0034355213509841\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eFefoame, G. O. (2009). Barriers to education: A voice from the field.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGaudiano, P., Hunt, E., (2017). 10 Tips for Unlocking the Talent and Potential of Employees with Disabilities. Forbes, Accessed September 09, 2017 https://www.forbes.com/sites/gaudianohunt/2017/06/12/workplace-disability-tips/#710c30404df4\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGrech, S., \u0026amp; Soldatic, K. (Eds.). (2016). Disability in the Global South: The Critical Handbook. Springer.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGudlavalleti, V. S. M. (2018). Challenges in accessing health care for people with disabilities in the South Asian context: A review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 15(11), 2366. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112366\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMailwane, N. (2017). Ecosystemic factors that influence accessibility to ECD services for young children with disabilities in South Africa. Unpublished PhD thesis. Pretoria: University of Pretoria.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMcClain-Nhlapo, C.(2010).Mainstreaming and inclusive development.\u003cem\u003e Poverty and Disability. London: Leonard Cheshire Disability.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMorath, E., (2019). America\u0026rsquo;s hidden workforce returns, The Wall Street Journal, Dated January 26th 2019, Accessed on June 12 th 2019 from https://www.wsj.com/articles/americas-hidden-workforce-returns- 11548478801\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNario-Redmond, M. R. (2010). Cultural stereotypes of disabled and non-disabled men and women: Consensus for global category representations and diagnostic domains. British Journal of Social Psychology, 49(3), 471\u0026ndash;488. https://doi.org/10.1348/014466609X468411\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNdzwayiba, N. A. (2017). Doing human differently: A critical study of appraised diversity discourses in corporate South Africa [Doctoral dissertation, Witwatersrand University].\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eNkomo, N., \u0026amp; Marucchi, D. (2020). \u003cem\u003eRural Young Children with Disabilities: Education, Challenges, and Opportunities\u003c/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003e2\u003c/em\u003e(2), 134\u0026ndash;145.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eOcran, J. (2022). \u0026ldquo;There is something like a barrier\u0026rdquo;: Disability stigma, structural discrimination, and middle-class persons with disabilities in Ghana. \u003cem\u003eCogent Social Sciences\u003c/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003e8\u003c/em\u003e(1). https://doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2022.2084893\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePal, G. C. (2011). Disability, intersectionality, and deprivation: An excluded agenda. Psychology and Developing Societies, 23 (2), 159\u0026ndash;176. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 097133361102300202\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSherraden, M. S., Stringham, J., Sow, S. C., \u0026amp; McBride, A. M. (2006). The forms and structure of international voluntary service. Voluntas: \u003cem\u003eInternational Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations,\u003c/em\u003e 17(2), 156-173.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWardak, A., Faiz, I. M., \u0026amp; Turmusani, M. (2003). Disability policy development in Afghanistan: towards a barrier-free society. \u003cem\u003eUNESCAP, Bangkok\u003c/em\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e"}],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":true,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":false,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":false,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":"Disability, Handicap, Impairment, persons with disability","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6392011/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6392011/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis study investigates the challenges and opportunities faced by persons with disabilities in two villages within the Chobi District, West Shoa Zone, Oromia, Ethiopia. Employing a mixed-methods approach, the research combines quantitative data from a survey of 154 households with qualitative insights gleaned from key informant interviews, focus group discussions, personal observations, and life histories. The study reveals a complex interplay of factors impacting Persons with disabilities\u0026rsquo; lives. While acknowledging the presence of supportive policies, affirmative action, and improving public attitudes, the research highlights significant barriers, including financial constraints, inadequate housing, health issues, unemployment, and a lack of specialized education and support. Persons with disabilities experience social exclusion, stigmatization, limited political participation, and are often hidden within their homes due to societal shame. The findings underscore the pervasive economic, social, and political marginalization of Persons with disabilities, stemming from misconceptions and limited opportunities. The study concludes with a call for urgent and coordinated interventions from governmental and non-governmental organizations to address these systemic issues. Recommendations include providing essential social services, raising community awareness through targeted media campaigns, and fostering inclusive environments to combat stigma and discrimination, ultimately enabling Persons with disabilities to fully participate in society.\u003c/p\u003e","manuscriptTitle":"Household Challenges and Opportunities of Persons With Disabilities in Two Selected Villages of Chobi District, West Shoa Zone, Oromia National Regional State, Ethiopia","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-05-21 10:27:24","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6392011/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"0d551432-3493-469f-80f6-98f9a9835140","owner":[],"postedDate":"May 21st, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"posted","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2026-01-23T10:55:14+00:00","versionOfRecord":[],"versionCreatedAt":"2025-05-21 10:27:24","video":"","vorDoi":"","vorDoiUrl":"","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6392011","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6392011","identity":"rs-6392011","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"XKTyCvWXoU3ODBz1xrDgd","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}