During the launch of the makyedie Reality Show for Persons with disabilities(PWDs), Dr Augustina Naami the Head of Department of Social work at the University of Ghana(Legon) made her concerns known on the need for developers to make the environment easily accessibles to persons with disabilities.
She emphasized on how public buildings such as schools, hospitals, banks, toilets, churches, auditoriums, and conference halls be made accessible to them in order to promote their right to participation and inclusion in the country.
Makyedie Reality Show is a programme organized by the Green Media Network in collaboration with NiiAnnangAdzor Foundation (NAAF) and Centre for Employment of Persons with Disability (CEPD), which is held across all the 16 Regions of Ghana and targeted at promoting the talents of PWDs in order to mitigate stigmatization and improve their employment.
She took this opportunity to encourage the persons with disabilities to believe in their potential, work hard and stay focused because they have been endowed with unique abilities by God which when they are given the right platform and nurtured would make them effective contributors to the development of the country.
In our part of the world, marginalization, discrimination, misconception, and stigmatization has led to the acts of gross disrespect towards them, she added.
Additionally, Mr. Alex Tetteh who is the President of CEPD, expressed his worry that, persons with disabilities faces discrimination when it comes to employment and access to loans to start business. This has resulted to their low quality of life and low productivity in the country.
They hope that this talent show breaks the barriers these people face in the community.
This helps to show that the phrase “Disability is not inability” is not just a cliche.
