The new leadership of the National Union of Organizations of the Disabled (NUOD), the independent umbrella body of Liberia's disabled persons not on Government's direct support line, has strategized on four areas to make NUOD more visible nationwide and respected by members of the complete-body section of the country. NUOD was founded October 25, 2022.
Right now, the leadership is relying exclusively on hand-outs from individual persons and other organizations to enable it run the day-to-day affairs at the current Headquarters (located at 9th Street, Sinkor, Monorovia) and for its outreach projects. Majority of NUOD's members are involved in street-begging to survive.
The first strategic plan is entry into the National Legislature.
"Section nine of the Act that established the National Commission on Disability, NCD, talks about three seats in the National Legislature for the Disabled Community," Mr. Peter Blessing Kerkula Flomo, NUOD's new president (elected April 27, 2023) said in an interview with Journalists during the new leadership's first post-elections General Meeting. He replaced the Institution's longest-served president, Madam Naomi B. Harris, whose life was cut short by Pressure on the 26th day of February, 2022.
The portion of the Document referenced by the new president states: "That immediately after the passage of this Act, considering the numerical strength of the disabled population in Liberia which constitutes over sixteen percent (16%) of the general populace, a special National Constituency is hereby created to accommodate and facilitate the representation of the disabled community of the National Legislature, with at least three (3) Legislators who shall be elected to speak for and facilitate the cause of the disabled people in the National Legislature."
The Act was approved November 23, 2005, and published by Authority of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs December 29, 2005.
"The seats are already enacted by Law, but the constituencies are not established yet," NUOD's new Vice President for Administration, Mr. Melvin Harding, made a contribution during the interview with Journalists.
The second strategic plan is construction of NUOD's Headquarters.
"Having our own Headquarters will prevent NUOD's existence of being briefly hosted by another institution, and pushed out after a year or two. Since the creation of NUOD in 1995, we have squatted in more than seven places," president Flomo said.
One of the institutions that had hosted NUOD is an Italian Institution named Association Friends of Raoul Follereau (AIFO), whose focus is only on disabled organizations. Founded by a French Journalist in 1961, NUOD entered Liberia in 1997, opened an office on 19th Street, Sinkor (where it hosted the Naomi B. Harris-led leadership of NUOD). AIFO's first work in Liberia was through a community-based rehabilitation approach on leprosy. Later, they established a business setup program being run disabled people into oil palm and rice production in Montserrado, Bong, Nimba, and Grand Gedeh Counties.
AIFO hosted NUOD at its new Head Office on 5th Street, Jallah Town, in Sinkor.
Building the capacities of NUOD's Counties' Chapters and Disabled People's Organizations (DPOs), auxiliary bodies of NUOD, is the third strategic plan.
"Some of the capacities are leadership structures, through training; financial management trainings for heads of the Counties' Chapters and DPOs, and integrity-based and effective leadership behaviors," president Flomo said.
The fourth strategic plan is lobby for financial support to get disabled parents' children--who follow their parents on street-begging tours--into school.
"You, who are not blind, can see everyday these school-going age children leading their visually impaired or blind parents on street-begging tours in the traffic, begging owners of Stores, or non-disabled persons passing by them on the street. These children should be in schools, like their colleagues whose parents are not disabled. The United Nations motto says 'Leave No One Behind' in the development of the Country. These children escorting their street-begging parents are also covered by the United Nations motto," president Flomo said.
"We will also lobby for scholarship support for visually impaired students at the High School and University levels who dropped out of school due to school fee problems," the president added.
The NUOD leader concluded his interaction with media persons on what he described as "the new leadership's "main challenging factors"
"These challenging factors include the following: The leadership's financial incapacitation. We met no money in the Institution's coffers, which would enable us begin with our smooth running of the day-to-day office activities. No equipment to enhance the new leadership's administrative works. Another major challenging factor is absence of money to service NUOD's car and to buy gas, fuel, or lubricant for the car to take the new leadership on our development-related tours outside of Montserrado County," the new president enumerated.
On promotion of natural abilities, talents, of members of the Disabled Community, president Peter Flomo said talents exhibition will economically empower members with various natural abilities, prevent their surviving exclusively on surviving on "little hand-outs from other people with no disability", and enable them contribute to NUOD's general projects for the empowerment of all members.
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"Promotion or exhibition of members' natural abilities, also called talents, will be one of my leadership's priority projects in the four-year strategic plan. The Disabled Community's has a huge reservoir of talents. Some of the community's members are into the following: singing in their Churches or secular organizations; some are good dancers, some are good painters or drawers of humans' and other images; some are into creating human images from wood. This is called wood carving or sculpture. There are many other talents in the Liberian disabled people's community. I can't mention all, because of time. The leadership will promote these talents through the Counties Chapters, or through NUOD's auxiliary bodies named or Disabled People's Organizations. We will invite Counties' Senators and Representatives to these events. We will also extend invitation to the Head of State. I'm certain that each special invited guest to these talents-exhibitions program will make some financial contribution, which we will us to complete a project or undertake a new project," president Flomo said.
During the first post-elections General Meeting, Mr. Joshua S. Gargar served as Sign Language Interpreter for the hearing-impaired (deaf) NUOD's member.
Other officials of NUOD's new leadership are: Abraham V. Konneh, Vice President for Operations; Sylvester Momo, General Secretary; Rose W. Teah, Treasurer; Lovette Savage, Financial Secretary; and James Abraham Kiawu, Chaplain General.
