By Abass Jalloh
The Sierra Leone Association of the Blind (SLAB), a disability rights advocacy organization, has conducted a national engagement forum together with various partners, calling on the government of Sierra Leone for their inclusivity in national development.
The forum for mostly visually impaired persons, hosted yesterday November 29 at the Saphyre Court Hall at King Herman Road in Freetown, aims to consolidate disability rights awareness and enhance collaboration especially among civil society organizations to scale up and accelerate the process of inclusion at all levels of decision- making.
It was also the climax to commemorative events marking the International White Cane Safety Day on 15th October 2022, and a prelude to the International Day of the Disabled on 3rd December 2022, according to officials.
SLAB Volunteer Director, Kabbakeh Noah, said their call is significant for persons with disabilities to be sharing their thoughts on national development issues.
He emphasized that the idea for the forum was a kind of reflecting on the welfare of persons with disability, what the government has done and what needed to be done to ensure better life, noting the critical policies and legislations being formulated and passed like the enactment of Persons with Disability Act of 2011, the Medium Term National Development Plan, and more.
In her remarks, the President of SLAB, Isatu Kamara, noted that the current focus of persons with disability is largely to demand change for their livelihoods as equal citizens of the country.
Ms. Kamara noted that to make society better for them, government should support succeeding generations towards an inclusive, non-discriminatory and acceptable society for all.
She said: “Every year, the blind and other persons with disability in Sierra Leone join the global disability community to observe the international White Cane Safety Day and the International Day of the Disabled to assess mad reflect on progress made by government in dressing policies and legal issues in fulfilment of commitment to achieving a society for all and to become more strategic in our daily struggle for a barrier-free Sierra Leone.”
The National Project Coordinator for the National Commission for Social Action (NaCSA), Umaru Damon Samai, said they have done a pilot registration capturing a comprehensive data for persons with disabilities in Sierra Leone.
Copyright © 2022 Politico Online
