Gift Govere: Spotlighting a meaningful contribution
In 2019, Gift Govere was working as a teaching assistant at the university when he came across the opportunity to join the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). It was an opportunity to contribute to society, especially since Gift wanted to address social inequalities.
As a UN Volunteer Project Officer with UNDP Zimbabwe Country Office, Gift helped to increase the knowledge of staff about the inclusion of marginalized groups or persons with disabilities. This was vital to the work carried out in Zimbabwe, as without this training, it would have been difficult to know how to engage with persons with disability and how to operate disability-inclusive programmes.
For Gift, working for UNDP was about addressing the stigma in society. The opportunity to listen to other people’s stories and hear about the barriers faced by marginalized groups in society drove his passion. “UNDP provided an inclusive environment in which I could participate and make a meaningful contribution,” he adds.
As part of his assignment, Gift worked under the United Nations Partnership on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNPRPD). He supported the Governance and Peacebuilding Unit of UNDP to be more disability-inclusive in its programmes.
UNDP offered an inclusive environment from the start. Gift was asked on the first day how his work environment could be made more accessible. For example, he has low vision and to aid that he could also use a bigger screen instead of a PC monitor to see things easily.
He worked on the Spotlight Initiative, which focused on promoting gender equality. He examined real-life case studies that dealt with access to justice for marginalized groups. He worked on policy and legislative frameworks, where he promoted the alignment of national laws to the constitution and more specifically, to the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). There was also a focus on teaching women and girls with disabilities to effectively and meaningfully participate in law and policymaking processes.
“For me, serving with UNDP is about breaking certain stigmas and stereotypes in society that tell me, ‘You can go this far, but you cannot go further than this’. I have had my challenges, and I have listened to other people’s stories. This makes me appreciate the challenges and barriers faced by marginalized groups in society. If I can be included, accepted and contribute meaningfully, why can’t everyone experience the same?”
Gift’s story resonates with a powerful message: If one person can be included, accepted and contribute meaningfully in a certain space, the barriers for the next person can be dismantled.
This article was produced with the kind support of Online Volunteer Abbey Gibson. Find out more on how to volunteer online or engage Online Volunteers.
