‘Don’t stigmatise disabled’
This year's World Disability Day in the Northern Region was commemorated at Bole. As part of activities for the day, a public forum was held and aimed at disabusing the people’s minds of the notion that disability was a curse.
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About 459 people with disabilities (PWDs), including 252 females went on an hour route march through the principal streets of Bole to demonstrate that their disabilities did not mean they lacked the power to perform.
Various disabled associations took part in the celebrations, including the Ghana Blind Union, Ghana Society of Physically Disabled and Ghana Association of the Deaf.
Two percent DACF disbursed
The Bole District Chief Executive, Mr James Jaaga, addressed the gathering. He said the government was concerned about the welfare of the disabled and that was why it put aside two per cent of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF) as support for them.
He said the government had released an amount of GH¢23,615.00 to be disbursed to people with disabilities in the district. He pledged his commitment and the assembly's readiness to work with them, and as such urged them to feel free and approach it with their concerns. He said the infrastructure in most public buildings at Bole and other places had been modified to enable the disabled to gain access into them.
The Bole District Director of the Department of Social Welfare (DSW), Mr Stephen Mensah, urged the public to not stigmatise or discriminate against people with disabilities or people associated with PWDs. He said because people with disabilities were stigmatised, parents of children with disabilities hid them from the public and subjected them to various forms of inhumane treatment.
Education opportunities for the disabled
Mr Mensah urged parents of disabled children to bring them out since there were various institutions and organisations ready to offer them free education instead of making beggars out of them. “Children with disabilities have been enrolled at the Wa School for the Deaf and Dumb where they are acquiring various skills that will empower them to have bright future,” he said.
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He disclosed that the department was in the process of registering people with disabilities, particularly in rural areas such as Bamboi, Tinga and Maluwe with the aim of providing care and support for them. He said so far 50 disabled people had been trained in Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and another 64 supported to further their education in various tertiary institutions.
The Northern Regional President for PWDs, Mr Abraham Boah, expressed his satisfaction with the warm relationship with the assembly and the group and asked that it be sustained for their mutual benefit.