‘Paternalistic’ annual Radiomarathon fundraiser ‘sends wrong messages’

The Cypriot confederation for the disabled (Kisoa) on Monday called for an end to annual Radiomarathon fundraiser for children with special needs, saying its paternalistic messaging is stuck in the attitudes of the 1990s.
The annual charity event sends the wrong messages Kisoa charged, saying that instead of calling for “help” the messaging should be about inclusion, empathy and disabled children’s rights.
The organisation recently met with the marathon’s organisers, where they had presented their absolute disagreement with the way the annual fundraiser is conducted.
First Lady Philippa Karsera Christodoulides who had facilitated the meeting between Kisoa and the Pancyprian Alliance for Disability with the leadership of the Radiomarathon, said last week that the Radiomarathon was “evolving” and called on the public to tune in and contribute.
She said the foundation aimed to send messages of “respect, diversity, and empathy” in the hopes of “a just society which respects everyone and is inclusive”.
Kisoa in its official announcement conceded that when the Radiomarathon was founded in the 1990s, it served a function and had indeed contributed drastically to breaking down social barriers and [faulty] perceptions leading to an acceptance of disability.
However, times have changed, and it is necessary to revise the messages it projects, as well as the goals and purposes of the foundation, the organisation for the disabled said.
The rhetoric “fundraiser for children who need us” must be immediately reworded to an “inclusion and empathy campaign for children”, Kisoa said. The organisation argued that the paternalistic messaging detracts from the fact that human rights, disabled rights and children’s rights are at stake.
Among the rights these children should be afforded, are a single, inclusive education system where disabled children discover and cultivate their skills, and flourish as individuals, Kisoa said.
“We completely oppose any activities in the school environment in the context of the Radiomarathon, which [push] the impression that [the sole objective is] collecting money,” it added.
Children with disabilities, as well as their families, do not need fundraisers which convey outdated messages and discrimination in the guise of charity, Kisoa said.
“People with disabilities are not beggars, nor do they seek to be pitied. On the contrary, they claim their rights in a dignified way and the state must, finally, provide them.”