Prioritize children with Disability’s education

The President of Up and Shine Foundation, Rev. Richard Nii Amartey Adesah, has called on Ghanaians to prioritize the education of the Child with Disability in order to change the narrative about disability.

Rev. Adesah, who was speaking at the launch of a riding tour, “Riding the Passion Tour” to promote the education of the Child with Disability said, “disability is a serious business that must occupy our attention as a nation and individuals. If an estimated twenty percent (20%) of our population are Persons with Disability (PWDs) then it is expedient to us all to put disability issues on the front burner.”

He noted that “the education of Children with Disability has been neglected by many parents and society in general because of its exigencies. Our schools and educational institutions are not well structured to accommodate some of them, thus the tendency to either reject or neglect them.”

He observed that the neglect of PWDs at their earlier stages of life and disability, leads to the formation of a beggarly character and in some instances, a resistance to society in general. “Due to this neglect, some PWDs always suspect helpers as exploiters.”

Rev Adesah, who is the Immediate past President of the Federation of Africa Amputee Football (FAAF), disclosed that, Up and Shine Academy, the educational unit of the foundation with some 120 children with disability across the country, was on a course to change some of these attitudes and “we need the support of all and sundry to make it a reality.”

Riding the Passion Tour is a ride by an amputee, Kingsley Ofori, who rides a bicycle with one arm, from Accra to Kumasi to raise awareness on the need to educate the child with disability.

Up and Child Foundation, championing the education of the child with disability and are the organizers of the tour, are hopeful parents with children with disability and the society in general would give attention to this cause.

The Queen Mother of Danchira in the Greater Accra Region, Danchira Maanye Naa Aba Densuah I, appealed to Ghanaians to support the idea of educating children with disability in order to bring out their special talents to help with the development of the country.

“Nothing is too small or big; contribute your quota to this laudable initiative to help the less privileged in our society,” she appealed.

For his part, Apostle Doku, Secretary of the Council of Charismatic Churches of Ghana, challenged the Clergy and Christians to demonstrate their love for God through support for these less-privileged ones.

The Riding the Passion Tour begins later in the year and is expected to draw attention to the education of the Child with Disability.