'Peace Girl': Giving a voice to youth with disabilities
'Representation matters'
The comic book was created in collaboration with talented hearing-impaired children who helped shape a vision of a hero for deaf children.
The Ombetja Yehinga Organisation (OYO) recently launched a comic book, titled 'Peace Girl', as part of an initiative to address the lack of representation of youth with disabilities.In conjunction with the National Institute of Special Education, and funded by the Bulgarian Development Fund of the Embassy of Bulgaria in South Africa, the comic was launched on 1 June as part of the ‘Hear Me' project.
The artwork was created by Mitchell from Tafy Tang Arts, and the storyline was developed with the help of 15 talented deaf children to ensure their vision and concerns form part of the comic book.
A collaboration
The story centres around Peace Girl, a hearing-impaired heroine who takes on the role of the protagonist and who, among other talents and interests, has great analytical abilities and the ability to fight.
"Comics in Namibia hardly ever focus on children with disabilities, yet representation matters," said Phillipe Talavera, the OYO director.
"We often think that people living with disabilities cannot do what other people can, but that’s not true," he added.
Talavera explained that focus group sessions were conducted with 15 learners from the School for the Hearing Impaired in Windhoek to help determine the characteristics of the hero, including her appearance, colours, and special abilities.
The creators also provided her with a sidekick, Peter, to assist her in her adventures.
Prior to finalising the story, a draft was shared with the participating children for their final suggestions.
The comic is eight pages long.
Future work
The creatives hope to tell more stories going forward. In line with this, they have applied for additional support from the education ministry.
They aim to eventually create a 28-page Peace Girl comic book.
"Future development would include the introduction of other heroes." The new heroes would broaden the representation of children with disabilities, including those who use wheelchairs and struggle with mental health issues.
Bulgarian ambassador for South Africa, Maria Tzotzorkova, said: "I am very happy with your achievements. I have always believed that through the arts, all children, including those with hearing impairments, can express themselves freely and equally."
The comic books will be distributed to schools that cater to children living with disabilities, with the hope of making copies available at secondary schools in the future.