Hello
everybody from the new Resource Centre team!
This week
is the first of our placement at the Northern Regional Resource
Centre for People with Disabilities here in Tamale. It’s been a
busy and exciting week learning about the issues people with
disabilities (PWDs) face in Ghana and getting acquainted with the
resource centre.
Ghanaian
PWDs often find it difficult to stay in education or find employment
due to widespread stigmatisation. PWDs are mainly portrayed
negatively, as beggars or shut-ins, unable to contribute to society
and refused opportunities to do so. Disability, especially in rural
areas, is misunderstood and little information is provided to
families to explain what disability is, how it is caused and how to
live with it. Unfortunately, due to this lack of information, parents
often view disability as a curse inflicted on their children to
punish the mother. Consequently, disabled children are occasionally
kept inside family homes out of misplaced shame.
It is
therefore vital for us to dispel the core myths and misunderstandings
about disability in Ghana to help spread the word that disability
does not mean inability. If PWDs were offered the same opportunities
as able-bodied Ghanaians, in education, in work and in sport, then
Ghana as a whole, and the one out of every ten Ghanaians that are
disabled, would hugely benefit.
This is
our team. From the UK the volunteers are Ben, Alice and Becki
and here in Ghana we have Elisha, Ben, Abass and Ayishatu making
up a great team to break the stigmatization associated with persons
with disabilities and also sensitize all to live harmoniously and to
encourage persons with disabilities to mingle freely with the society
without being looked down upon. It’s a great experience and we are
happy as a team of volunteers championing this course.
Hence we
are planning to do some sensitization campaigns and programs to
enhance and encourage the integration of students with disabilities
in schools and also show some documentaries on sensitization and how
to do away with stigmatization on persons with disabilities. We plan
to do this with our target groups being teachers and also school
children and even to Parent – Teacher Associations in schools and
possibly in churches. We have had some very positive feedback so far
and can't wait to get on with our work.
Ben and
Elisa, Volunteers at the Resource Centre.
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