Ubuntu challenges the dominant views that dehumanise, isolate, stigmatise and exclude those living with disabilitiesPhoto: File
People in rural Africa believe that to exist is to be in a three-way relationship — with people, nature and the spiritual realm. Through this relationship, which is not linear but interconnected and ongoing, they make sense of the world around them and the experiences that inform their worldview. It is also how they navigate the world.
This sense of a spiritual connection is present in communal proverbs and ancestral sayings. In South Africa, elders speak of “umntu ngumntu ngabantu” (a person is a person through others). Our ancestors taught us that every member of the community has a role, and that healing comes through belonging, not exclusion. Disability, in this sense, is not a barrier to participation, but like ubuntu, a call to recognise and deepen our collective humanity.
Interestingly, local scholars have pointed out that the term “disability” is not present in certain indigenous languages in South Africa. This should make us pause and ask: whose worldview does this reflect, and whose does it privilege? — especially as we celebrate Casual Day on 5 September.
This philosophy of ubuntu challenges the dominant narratives that dehumanise, isolate, stigmatise and exclude. From this perspective, disability is not merely a medical condition or a social phenomenon, but also a political issue that calls for critical reflection(s) on its colonial roots and interrogation of how these endure today.
In a recent article in the South African Journal of Science, Lieketseng Ned reminds us that a decolonial framing of disability is a necessity towards “redefining disability as a lived experience influenced by overlapping identities, such as race, gender, class, and geography, rather than only portraying it as a deficiency or medical disease”. This reminder calls for consideration of the difficulties facing people with disabilities in rural areas as intricately intertwined with systemic oppression, chronic poverty and other forms of violence that together result in a denial of dignity.
People continue to struggle to gain access to healthcare, social support and education. These contextual constraints also affect their families and wider community, further limiting access to any available support and opportunities for full participation in daily life. From an ubuntu perspective, we are reminded of our collective ethical responsibility towards restorative justice and inclusivity, neither of which can be achieved without centring disabled voices, experiences and agendas in rural development policies, initiatives and dialogues.
To truly achieve disability inclusion, we must co-create rather than impose solutions, drawing from ancestral wisdom, lived experience and ecological systems thinking. The spiritual relational wisdom imparts an obligation to humanise the disability experience, realising that “we are” only because “the ‘othered’ are also”. Disability, therefore, needs to be reimagined and reframed through an indigenous lens, recognising that indigenous people are not waiting to be saved, but are already at the forefront of finding ways to reclaim their dignity and rehumanising themselves.
This concept of disability inclusion is exemplified by a case presented by one of the contributing authors, who is also the founder of Imijelo Yophuhliso (isiXhosa for “streams of development”) and an indigenous community practitioner and collaborator. Imijelo Yophuhliso is a community-based initiative that works with parents of children with disabilities. Their work includes inclusive money savings groups where families of children with disabilities are active participants, not passive recipients.
Indigenous games and storytelling by grandparents are some examples of strategies used to stimulate child development and strengthen intergenerational bonds. As indigenous practitioners, we build on these relational discussions and ethics in indigenous foundations to foster inclusive, self-reliant and strong rural communities, especially those raising children with disabilities.
In rural areas, where formal services are scarce, disability becomes a site of innovation. Families adapt, improvise,and collaborate. Indigenous communities teach us that inclusion is not a checklist, it is a way of life where we are not “better than”, but “part of” the whole. When we collaborate with genuine humility, we learn to be informed by, and amplify these practices, turning local knowledge into models that can inform national policy.
What we have discussed in this article is a relational and spiritual experience, rooted in our ubuntu worldview, where personhood is affirmed through connection, contribution and care. Perceptions of disability are not defined by what a person lacks, or a deficit lens, but by how they are embraced by their community. A child with a disability is not seen as broken, but as a part of the community and its continuity.
This definition is informed by their relational and spiritual worldview which has been adopted by various community initiatives, such as Imijelo Yophuhliso, and many other organisations supporting persons with disabilities and their families in rural areas across South Africa.
Dr Chioma Ohajunwa is a senior lecturer and Dr Mapheyeledi Motimele a postdoctoral fellow at the Africa Centre for Inclusive Health Management at Stellenbosch University. Dr Ntombekhaya Tshabalala is the director of Imijelo Yophuhliso Community Initiative and a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for Global Surgery at the university.