Patricia Maganu
26 November 2008
Francistown — "People with disabilities are among the poorest and most marginalised of all the world's people". These were the words of Dennis Alexander, CEO of BOMAID, while giving a speech at the National Disability Awareness Day commemorated in Francistown stadium on Monday.
Alexander, the guest speaker at the event, said that the lack of equal opportunities for education, employment and social interaction leaves many people with disabilities with few resources, little opportunity to make their contribution to society and little or no say over their current or future lives.
"People with disabilities face similar challenges, but the difference between the looks of desperation, optimism and hope is made possible by respect, social integration in the community and access to health and rehabilitation services; services that provide tools to overcome challenges they are facing in the society," he said.
Alexander also said that this year's event is intended to foster changes in attitudes towards people with disabilities and eliminate barriers to their participation in all aspects of life. "It calls for identification of particular disadvantages for people with disabilities in relation to educational status, earnings and social participation and further confirms the need to ensure that strategies to combat educational disadvantage, pay gaps and social exclusion are tailored to accommodate, include and benefit people with disabilities," he added.
Alexander further said that the principle underlying the concept of social inclusion is that efforts are needed to break down the barriers that still prevent people with disabilities from actively participating and contributing to the economic growth of their societies.
He further stated that as a result of discrimination, segregation from society, economic marginalisation and lack of participation in social, political and economic decision-making processes, people with disabilities have been left out of development, impairing one of the core democratic values of full participation of all citizens in all aspects of social development.
He further called on stakeholders, in the disability fraternity and beyond ,to re-engineer their set of objectives and goals and translate them into concrete realities for people with disabilities.
"It fosters greater understanding of issues affecting people with disabilities and helps mobilize new support for their rights," he stated.
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Mmegi/The Reporter. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
