Ghanaians should give moral and material support to Persons with Disability
Dormaa-Ahenkro (B/A), Oct 31, GNA – Mr. Vincent Oppong-Asamoah, Dormaa Municipal Chief Executive, has called on Ghanaians to give moral and material support to Persons with Disability to dissuade them from begging for alms for survival.
He stressed that the status of Persons with Disability could be greatly enhanced if the Disability Act 2006 (Act 715) was strictly adhered to by stakeholders.
The MCE was speaking at this year's annual week celebration of the Dormaa Municipal branch of Ghana National Association for the Deaf (GNAD) at Dormaa-Ahenkro, under the theme, “Breaking the communication barrier between the deaf and the hearing public through sign language'.
Mr Oppong-Asamoah emphasized that disability was not inability and that the Physically-Challenged had a lot to offer towards their development and that of their communities.
“Modern technology and refined government policies have offered windows of opportunity to all Ghanaians and it is unacceptable for the physically-challenged to resign themselves to fate on grounds of their physical appearance”, the MCE said.
In an address read for him, Mr. Emmanuel Sakyi, national president of the Association called on society to respect the rights of the hearing impaired.
He noted that part of the Disability Act had tasked providers of public and private social services to make adequate provision for the physically-challenged.
The National President also identified accessibility to information and communication as two big challenges that confront the deaf and urged the hearing public to assist the deaf in accessing information “without let or hindrance”.
Mr Sakyi appealed to families of the deaf to send such persons to special institutions to acquire basic knowledge in sign language for the enhancement of their communication status.
Mr. Anthony Yeboah, Brong Ahafo regional president, announced that the Dormaa branch had 76 members made up 46 males and 30 females.
He commended the Municipal Assembly for making available to the Association the two per cent component of the District Assemblies Common Fund and gave assurance that the allocation would be put to good use.
The Municipal Social Welfare Officer, Mr. Owusu Sekyere, appealed to the Deaf to avoid taking the law into their hands and to seek counsel at the appropriate quarters for solutions to their grievances.