• 座談会：視覚障害者が高等教育で学ぶ〜スーダンと日本の経験を語る
  モハマド・オマル・アブディン、青木慎太朗、星加良司、福地健太郎
• 視覚障害者の情報保障の技術と課題　斉藤龍一郎
• 後紛争国ルワンダにおける障害者の現状　曽田夏記
• アフリカ障害者の10年　African decade of persons with disabilities 中西由紀子
• 日本から「アフリカ障害者の10年」を支援する 宮本泰輔
• アフリカの現場から〜ルワンダ　On the spot in Africa / Rwanda 加藤悦子
• 『見る・つくる・知る　おしゃれなアフリカ』シリーズを完成して 白鳥くるみ
• 書評：”Witness to AIDS”　Book Review: “Witness to AIDS” 米良彰子

GLIMPSES OF DISABILITY IN THE LITERATURE AND CULTURES OF EAST ASIA, SOUTH ASIA, THE MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA.

Miles, M. 2008-07. “Glimpses of Disability in the Literature and Cultures of East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East & Africa. A modern and historical bibliography, with some annotation.” Internet publication URLs: www.independentliving.org/docs7/miles200807.html and www.independentliving.org/docs7/miles200807.pdf

This annotated bibliography lists a selection of 130 novels, short stories, biographies, autobiographies, materials from philosophy, anthropology and folklore, and literary criticism, in which disability, deafness or mental disorders play some significant part, from East Asia, South Asia, the Middle East and Africa, available mostly in English or French.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.independentliving.org/docs7/miles200807.html

Angola: Lwini Fund Chief Defends Approval of Law On Disabled People

Angola Press Agency (Luanda)
1 July 2008
Posted to the web 1 July 2008

Luanda

The chairperson of the Lwini Social Solidarity Fund, Ana Paula dos Santos Monday here defended the approval by the National Assembly (Parliament) of the Law on Disabled People.

Speaking at the 10th founding anniversary of the solidarity fund, the entity referred that the approval of legal tools that grant the disabled an equal position with other people.

She explained that the Law on Disabled People will contemplate every profit, service and benefit in favour of these citizens, since it might lay the foundation for the instruction of the work being carried out in favour of the improvement of their living standards.

"For the success of this endeavour, the regulations need to be implemented", she said.

Ana Paula dos Santos, who is also the First Lady of Angola, expressed satisfaction at the work carried out by the organisation and promised to give her best in favour of disadvantaged persons.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807010903.html

Whose responsibility are our disabled children ?

By Mercy Adede Bolus
Feature Article | Wed, 02 Jul 2008

The plight of the physically challenged, particularly children in Ghana may not have been systematically addressed by various Governments and communites. There are various spectra of disabilities which may lack attention from our educational domain. For example; children suffering from dyslexic, dyspraxia, attention deficit, autistism, behavioural problems and others which may be caused by traumatic births, are not picked up at an earlier stage to get the treatment needed for them to reach their potential in life.

Our health care system does not have any screening for example, child health surveillance. This is where developmental progress in universal and it is free of charge also when appropriate with a referral protocol to provide services such as speech therapy, eye clinics, special needs schools. In many African societies such as Ghana, children with speech and language difficulties do not get the opportunity for a head start. Not only are these children labelled and bullied by their friends but also the stigma that is attached scars them for life. This also impacts on their confidence throughout life. If our current government is looking forward to a healthy economy for Ghana, then it may be worth considering all these things in the educational package to give them independence. In the developed world the physically challenged have gained employment in all areas and with the right head start for these groups in Ghana they will also join in our Government's determination to turn our poverty stricken physically challenged, speech impaired, sight deprived into independent individuals and a healthy nation of sound people.

Although the current Government's is working towardfs a very unique package educational . However, if the package includes our disabled children then it is a God-sent package. Our disabled do not want to end up as hawkers or beggars on our busy streets but useful citizens to help our economy. Currently there are moves to get rid of them. What are the alternatives for those poor street hawkers who have no other means to fend for themselves? Could it be that the system has failed them and they are trying to make something positive for themselves and our nation? Are children with any disabilites statemened and money earmarked for the extra edcuational needs?

If our Government would like to uproot poverty which is causing inequalities within our society then the implementation as suggested by the Government would need to be carried out very carefully and systematically. This programme could be ran in the evenings to accommodate such people so that within 6 months they would have gained sufficient knowledge to use those marketing skills they acquired from the hawking and the knowledge from the Marketing course could help the street hawkers to reap the benefits tourisms brings and divert into using their newly acquired skills to market their products professionally. We should not make the mistake of belittling people no matter their plight in life but rather reaching out to them half way to rise up and be counted. Every Ghanaian in the diaspora working in the field of child development with youth and children with learning disabilities should perhaps try and share their skills and experiences with our government. We are all trying to build a better Ghana and a better Africa. There is no need to re-invent the wheel and send people abroad to bring back such knowledge. Our Government is working with a very limited budget to solve many issues. If we claim we love our motherland then we need to be seen demonstrating this tangibly not just lip service and also picking up all the faults of our motherland and doing nothing but criticize.

All Ghanaians working in areas of children development and child health issues need to share their knowledge with the communities they come from? If you actually have such needed skills why don't share with the relevant organisations in Ghana.

There is the need to offer our support for our Government so that we could support and challenge schools to raise achievement levels so that all learners have the opportunity to fulfill their potential.

Parents do expect schools to work with them , children and the wider community, using positive role models to try and raise aspirations for our disabled bodied. Open evening classes gives parents an opportunity to air any worries.However this does not happen in ou rmotherland. Parents are left out in many case and governing bodies does not have much say.

All schools should by now have classes with is accessible to both the abled and disabled bodies . This would ensure that no one miss the educational opportunity. Our educational system would be seen as inclusive rather than exclusive.

There is the need to draw on schools strength, colleges and other educational institutions to create a city-wide learning community. Schools could be used in the evening for IT lessons as well as venues to teach street hawkers about marketing, slaes, PR techniques. No body should be left and the only criteria should perhaps be be full of enthusiasm to learn.

There is the need to make it easier on our children to follow courses that meet their needs and increase their chances of success in the workplace. Career counselling , work placements and career enhancement s. other intiatives.

Free parenting and support programmes need to be offered across the entire country. Support groups for parents of the disabled bodied and other developmental problems. We need to enable adults and children to make greater use of schools, colleges and off -site facilities to create more positive views of the educational experience.

Mentoring and coaching of students regardless of their abilities would be a useful service to help groom our youth to be aspiring citizens for our mother Ghana. No one should underestimate the abilities of people with challenge physical disablities. Tom Yendell's foot and month painting business put our groups of people with physical disabilities to shame as he is a Director of Art business in Selbourne in Hampshire. Looking at Tom it appears that being arms is rather a blessing. I will encourage everyone to google Tom Yendell achievement's by googling his name and see what unfolds. What is our problem in Ghana and most of the African countries. Why are we crying wolf all the time?

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.modernghana.com/news/172541/1/whose-responsibility-are-our-disabled-children-.html

‘Report fairly on disabled persons’

MARY GWERA
Daily News; Wednesday,July 02, 2008 @00:03

The local media has been urged to use proper language when reporting about disabled people and avoid derogatory references on them. The Chairperson of the Editors’ forum, Ms Sakina Datoo said this in Dar es Salaam yesterday at a workshop for News Editors that disabled people should be regarded as normal humans who contribute to socio-economic development in the country.

Ms Datoo said that training sessions have to be organized regularly so as to enable reporters to grasp the proper language to use when writing news items about disabled persons. Ms Datoo also said that religious leaders should try as much as possible to educate the society that disability should not be taken as a matter of superstition but it should be regarded as an act of God.

The Executive Director of the Information Centre on Disability (ICD) Mr Kaganzi Rutachwamago said that disabled people in Tanzania face serious problems of poverty, ignorance, diseases, solitude and lack of involvement in all socio economic development activities. Mr Rutachwamago said that the disabled should be regarded as citizens entitled to equal protection under the law and human rights.

“Despite definition complexities, it is not disputed by any scholar or activist in the disability arena that the whole issue of disability is related to social exclusion,” he said. He urged the media not to write on issues that would hurt the personalities of disabled people - instead they should write on important positive things that would help them acquire their basic rights as members of the society.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/analysis/index.php?id=5602

Cameroon: Opening Workplaces to Handicapped Persons

Cameroon Tribune (Yaounde)
3 July 2008
Posted to the web 3 July 2008

Brenda Yufeh

A workshop to validate jobs accessible to handicapped persons in Cameroon took place yesterday in Yaounde.

It is surprising to say that a visually impaired person can be a goal keeper, a photographer or a dentist. But this is possible. A study carried out by the Ministry of Social Affairs on jobs accessible to handicapped persons in Cameroon was validated yesterday in Yaounde during a workshop. The study revealed that handicapped persons can work at any place provided the working environment and equipment they use are adapted to their nature or disability. During the workshop, the Minister of Social Affairs, Catherine Bakang Mbock, said handicapped persons can contribute to the development of the country that is why there is a policy at her ministry to better integrate them in the society. Hence, the workshop aimed at examining and enriching the results of the study in a bid to ensure that it is in conformity with the law.

Statistics from the United Nations indicate that eight percent of the population is handicapped. Unemployment amongst them is very high. Although there is no current data on the number of handicapped persons in Cameroon, Minister Catherine Bakang Mbock noted that handicapped persons in Cameroon are victims of discrimination and do not benefit from professional training that can enable them have access to the job market. That is why the current study is vital for it will put at the disposal of employers and decision makers, an effective tool to facilitate accessibility to pay or self employed jobs for handicapped persons.

Soh Rodolphe, Director of Social Protection of Disabled and Older Persons at the Ministry of Social Affairs says although jobs for handicapped persons are scarce in Cameroon, the type of job available to a handicapped person will depend on the kind and level of the person's disability. He however noted that handicapped persons need more access to education and training to better fit in the job market. The study permitted the ministry to know several potentials of handicapped persons which employers can use to recruit them. It was revealed that those who are crippled can perform all the jobs carried out by those who are not handicapped. What is needed is to adapt their working environment to their nature such as making their offices accessible. For those who are visually impaired, the study revealed that there are enormous job opportunities same for those who are deaf and dumb.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807030952.html

News - Newsupdate June 2008

（アフリカのニュース）
１．青年トレーニング、セネガルで行われる
２．汎アフリカアルビノ協会の設立
３．ガーナ盲人協会、意志決定に障害者の参加を求める
４．ジンバブエのメディアがろう者へ配慮
５．CBRに関する書籍が刊行される
６．ウガンダにおける教員の欠勤が普遍的な初等教育の脅威に
（国際ニュース）
７．北京パラリンピックのガイドが書き換えられる
８．アジアで障害者が強制的に結婚させられる
９．学習障害に関して
10．イベント紹介

Regional news update from the secretariate of the African Decade of persons with Disabilities, 2008

Regional News

Youth Trained in Senegal

Participants of a youth workshop held in May 2008 in Senegal pledged to aggressively advocate for the rights of children and youth with disabilities.

The workshop organized by SADPD facilitated the development of the vision, mission and purpose of the Decade Youth Committee. Eighteen youths from the region participated. It was a follow up workshop to another held in the same country in December 2007.

They said it was important to build youth capacity to claim their rights, through dissemination and establishment of networks.

They pledged to create databases to facilitate information exchange on issues affecting them.

For more information, contact Email:
nafisa@africandecade.co.za <mailto:nafisa@africandecade.co.za>

Pan African Albinism Association Formed

A regional body has been formed to address the rights of persons with Albinism. The pan African Albinism Association was formed on 7th May 2008 at an SADPD sponsored workshop held in Da res Salaam, Tanzania.

The founder members included, Botswana, Ghana, Senegal, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya and Malawi. Other areas of advocacy that the association will address include, the incidences of violence perpetrated against persons with albinism.

Ritual killings of persons with albinism is a major crisis in East Africa and this is a critical issues that the association will grapple with.

In its effort to address specific needs of people with albinism, the association resolved to lobby African states;

Ratify and implement the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disability and its Optional Protocol.

Form a representative continental body that advocates, promotes and addresses particular concerns especially the rights of persons with albinism in Africa.

States authorities investigate and prosecute all cases of human rights violations and abuse of persons with Albinism especially gender based violence and ritual killings.

Governments put in place plans and policies that address discrimination against persons with albinism by ensuring effective, equitable, inclusion, and participation at all levels of decision-making processes.

States promote equal provision of services especially on the areas of health education employment and access to justice for all persons with albinism who suffer and are victims of exclusion and human rights violations

Adopt Albinism as a crosscutting issue that should be mainstreamed in national policies and plans.

For more information contact, Email:
Nikiwe@africandecade.co.za <mailto:Nikiwe@africandecade.co.za>

Ghanaian Association for the Blind calls for Inclusion of PWDs in Decision Making

• The Ghanaian Association of the Blind (GAB) has appealed to the Ghanaian government and policy makers to involve Persons with disability in decision-making to help care for their interests
• Speaking at the branch’s regional conference held last month in Ghana, Agnes Tetteh Chairperson of GAB, expressed disappointment at policy makers failure to seek views of Persons With Disabilities (PWDS) before implementing policies.
• She in particular pointed out that the countries currency was not easily identifiable by the blind and partially sighted persons.
• She appealed to the public, politicians, the Road Safety Commission and all policy makers to make disability issues a priority in planning programmes and activities to ensure a meaningful life for blind and partially sighted persons as well as all PWDs.

Zimbabwean Media Caters for Deaf Persons

CHIPAWO media in Zimbabwe has taken up the initiative and increased TV programmes for the Deaf in sign language.

The move comes at a time when the rights of persons with disabilities in Zimbabwe are under scrutiny. Though there are television programmes for the deaf in other countries, the initiative of CHIPAWO in Zimbabwe must be appreciated during this period when the country is in a political crisis.

CHIPAWO productions for the deaf in sign language grew out of the arts education and performance work began at Emerald Hill School for the deaf in Harare, in 1994 supported by World University Service (WUS), Canada.

For more information, contact
Email: chipawo@mango.zw <mailto:chipawo@mango.zw>

Reference Book on Community Based Rehabilitation Developed

The Community based Rehabilitation African network (CAN) has developed a reference book on Community Based Rehabilitation.

The book offers a participatory approach to Community Based Rehabilitation in Africa. All articles are authored by Africans and offer their own CBR experiences and case studies of their programmes, the problems they face and how they can be overcome them.

CAN is an NGO aimed at facilitating and sharing information about community based services for persons with disability and their families in African countries.

It was established to support CBR initiatives and to document good practice.

Its objectives include, collection of information about disability services from all Africa countries and to facilitate the capacity of CBR workers, to confirm their experiences between themselves and with other practitioners.

The reference book offers a range of views useful for stimulating debate by practioners. It has an appendix with discussion questions that could be used for conferences or workshops or a basis for discussions in training programmes.

It also has references to useful websites, which can be used by practitioners all over Africa.

For more information, visit: www.afri-can.org <http://www.afri-can.org/>

Teachers Absenteeism in Uganda Threatening UPE

Teacher absenteeism in Primary schools in Uganda threatens to undermine efforts gained in Universal Primary Education, a Millennium Development Goal.

According to a report “2007 state of Primary education in Uganda” released this month, teachers dodge classes because of delayed salaries, long distances and inadequate supervision.

The research carried out by Dutch operations Evaluation Department says teacher absenteeism is an enormous problem.
“There are a few reliable estimates but most figures range between 20 %% and 30 %%” , the report indicates.

In Uganda, there are about 13,000 primary school teachers, meaning that some 4,000 are absent from school at any given time. The report says absenteeism is higher in rural areas than in urban centres.

Pupils opt not to go to school because they do not expect their teachers to be there.

Source: The New Vision, Uganda 17th June 2008

International News

Beijing’s Paralympics Games Guide to be Rewritten

Organizers of the Beijing Olpmic and Paralympic Games have been forced to rewrite an official guide For volunteers after it was declared “ outdated and Disablist” by disability groups.

The guide is alleged to have stereotypes of disabled people considered to be outrageous. Concerns raised were found around the tips on how volunteers should interact with disabled people.

It described disabled people as “special group” with unique personalities and ways of thinking”. It is alleged to have stated that “Disabled people can be defensive and have strong sense of inferiority”.

The guide further warned that certain groups of disabled people are “introverted and seldom show strong emotions” or “ isolated, unsocial and introspective stubborn and controlling”.

Source: Disability now.

Disabled Asians Forced to Marry

A recent survey on disability among Asian communities indicates that disabled youth are being forced to marry.

The survey carried out by disability now shows a significant number of these marriages involve disabled people.

Many are subjected to domestic violence by family members to force them to marry. Some are kidnapped if they resist. Others are either sexually assaulted or raped if they cannot or do not give consent to intercourse once married.

The research indicates that a number of forced marriages have ended in murder. Saghir Alam, sitting on the disability committee at the equality committee at the equality and Human rights commission (UK) supports the rights of disabled people to marry.

“Ten or 15 years ago young disabled people in our community couldn’t get married and we certainly don’t want to prevent marriage. But there must be free consent under Sharia law. We don't want People being coerced to marriage”, he says.

He notes that forced marriages for the disabled is done by aging parents who fear leaving their disabled children behind to fend for themselves.

A UK Mp Dominic Grieve, the shadow Attorney General, has been reported to have raised the issue in parliament. “ there is a school in my constituency for children with learning disabilities. I am afraid that there is a consistent pattern of girls being removed at the age of 16 to be sent to the Indian sub continent to be married” he was quoted.

For more information, contact Email:
fmu@fco.gov.uk <mailto:fmu@fco.gov.uk>

Learning Disabilities Analyzed

Learning disabilities in school if not detected early, can lead to misunderstanding between teachers, parents and pupils.

Documented learning disabilities include: - Dyslexia. It most commonly affect a person’s ability to read, write or spell. Although there is no cure, people with dyslexia can be successful learners.

Dyscaculia is a problem that affects the brains ability to process and understand the meaning of numbers. Some children dyscalculia may not remember the correct order of operations when solving math problems.
They need carefully tailored practice to help them with math skills.

Dysgraphia is a learning disability that affects writing. Early treatment can help prevent or reduce dysgraphia.

Exercises can help improve hand strength and the ability of the muscles to remember how to write shapes. Teachers can help students around the disability. Assistance may include extra time to write, help with taking notes or even using a thicker than standard pencil.

Attention Deficit Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder affects approximately five to ten percent of children worldwide.
Medicine can sometimes be used to help children experience calmer, clearer thinking for periods of time. However, there is debate about medicating children with ADHD.

Source: VOA

Olamide James in Nigeria, writes

“Thanks for this detailed update. It is really encouraging that we can continually get things done for people with disability in our countries. I want to thank all you wonderful people working at the secretariat to assist us in awareness creation in Nigeria”.

Upcoming Events

Regional

*6-7 July
*SADPD needs assessment workshop
Location: Rwanda
Contact: Nikiwe@africandecade.co.za <mailto:Nikiwe@africandecade.co.za>

*11-16 July*
SADPD needs assessment workshop
Location: Kenya
Contact: Thomas@africandecade.co.za <mailto:Thomas@africandecade.co.za>

*14-18 July
*SADPD in collaboration with Handicap International - adocacy & lobbying workshop for disability inclusion in HIV/AIDS agenda
Location: Mozambique
Contact: Gouwah@africandecade.co.za <mailto:Gouwah@africandecade.co.za>

*23-27 July*
SADPD needs assessment workshop
Location: Senegal
Contact: mohamedfall1710@yahoo.fr <mailto:mohamedfall1710@yahoo.fr>

International

*2-4 July
*Regional Conference on rights of persons with disabilities
Location: Thailand

*15 October
*International white cane day

*3 December*
International Disability Day

……………………………………………………………………………………............

Helpful websites
Www.afri-can.org
<http://www.afri-can.org/>
www.motivation.org.uk <http://www.motivation.org.uk/> www.wheelchairfoundation.org/ <http://www.wheelchairfoundation.org/> www.paranet.ch <http://www.paranet.ch/>
www.joniandfriends.org <http://www.joniandfriends.org/> www.africandecade.org.za <http://www.africandecade.org.za/>

The Secretariat of African Decade of Persons with Disabilities monthly News Update is circulated monthly. We welcome views and feed back from our readers. Your Reponses will always be published in the next issue.
For more information, please contact info@africandecade.co.za <mailto:info@africandecade.co.za>

Compiled by: Jane Mwangi
Edited by: A. K. Dube

Ghana: Implementation And Creating Awareness of Disability Law Painfully Slow

Public Agenda (Accra)
4 July 2008
Posted to the web 4 July 2008

Frederick Asiamah
Accra

At the commemoration of the Second National Day of the Disabled on June 23, 2008, a call was made for the President J.A. Kufuor administration to be congratulated for the passage of the Persons with Disability Act (Act 715), 2006. But can a similar call be made regarding the implementation of Act 715?

The rationale for the commendation was that the 1992 Constitution of Ghana explicitly mandated Parliament, in Article 29, to enact legislation to protect the rights of persons with disability. In addition, the Constitution charged the Executive under the Directive Principle of State Policy in Article 37[2 (b)] to enact appropriate laws to assure the promotion and protection of the rights of the disabled.

Yet, "12 years after the promulgation of the Constitution, little had been done until 2005 when this government took the bull by the horns to lay the bill on disability to Parliament" (sic). Such was the position of Hon Paul Okoh, MP for Asutifi North and Chairman, Parliamentary Select Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises.

It is undeniable that credit must be given - as it has always been put - where it is due. Therefore, no one can begrudge the MP, but isn't government going to be complacent the moment we begin to pat it on the back? At least, there has been a semblance of complacency in the way government has approached the implementation of the Act so far. Otherwise, putting together the National Council on Persons with Disability should not take as long as it has taken government.

Thankfully, Hon Okoh was first to acknowledge at the occasion that "After the bill was passed into an Act, the strides by government; stakeholders and indeed the private sector has been irritatingly very slow." He had particular concern about the delay in setting up the council on PWDs: "One can say that, without this all important Council, all the efforts we have put in the enactment of the Disability Law had been delayed for almost two years."

It appears that on the account of implementation, a similar call for commendation cannot be made. According to the select committee chairman, the outcome of a recent disability audit tour, which the committee undertook to three regions to assess the people's awareness of the act and how it was being implemented, was unsatisfactory. He said, "I am afraid to report that the awareness is low and the implementation slow or nil."

Flowing from this is the need for all of us to intensify the education of the public about this important law.

"On this score the Parliamentary Select Committee on Employment, Social Welfare and State Enterprises promises to go to the other regions we could not visit during our previous tour and plead that other stakeholders would help in the propagation of this Act," said Hon Okoh.

Undoubtedly, the National Council on PWDs becomes crucial to this effort to sensitize people about the disability law. And that is why Mr S.K. Asare, President of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled (GFD) has pointed out that the enactment of the law was one thing and its implementation another. In view of this, he said, "government should expedite action on the law. We want the disability council formed and inaugurated."

Concurring, Hon Yaw Ofori Debra, Vice President in charge of Advocacy of GFD said, "In view of the crucial role the council is tasked to play, the government should act now to inaugurate the council and establish the secretariat for its effective functioning,"

One person who has not hidden his disappointment with the state of implementation and awareness about Act 715 is Mr Charles Appiagyei, a Senior Programme Officer of Action on Disability and Development (ADD). In a recent article, he wrote that "Public education and information hardly reach the deaf because sign language interpretation is absent. Stigmatization and exclusion are still rife because of lack of awareness on disability to erode negative mindsets and attitudes."

It must be noted though, that as much as government has the obligation to ensure the full and effective implementation of the law, civil society, PWDs and families, individuals and the media all have their roles to play.

As for the media, they must partner PWDs and their organisations to create awareness on the law, advocate its implementation, monitor its compliance and evaluate performance. Generating and disseminating relevant information on disability will add to advocacy and sensitization, said Mr Appiagyei.

On the other hand, "Ghanaians from all walks of life should lend their support to the cause of disability since it could be the lot of anybody at anytime," noted Mr Ofori Debra.

Hon Okoh's clarion call was thus: "The fight is yours, it is mine, it is ours and together we can succeed."

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807040822.html

Nigeria: Meet a Disabled Permsec

Daily Trust (Abuja)
6 July 2008
Posted to the web 7 July 2008

Nuruddeen M. Abdallah

Alhaji Usman Ahmad Nahuce became deaf at age nine after a bout of cerebrospinal meningitis. His impairment did not obstruct his ambition as he defies the odds to become a permanent secretary, the first audile person to rise to that position in Northern Nigeria. Sunday Trust examines this exploit.

Call him determination personified and you won't be wrong. He is deaf, but his gumption has today propelled him to the civil service pinnacle in Zamfara state. To him, disability only means ability to work harder to conquer the stereotype the society regards people with his disablement. He has been blazing the unusual trail by exploring turbulent terrain, a feat that characterizes his career that spans 29 years.

Alhaji Usman Ahmad Nahuche, Permanent Secretary in the Zamfara State Agency for Poverty Alleviation (ZAPA) is an unusual fellow who acts usual. His fortitude to overcome his disability took him to three continents in search of knowledge, he is today the only deaf Permanent Secretary in Northern Nigeria. In this encounter with Sunday Trust, he took this reporter into his life as well as the quantum challenges faced by people with disability.

Nahuche recalled with nostalgia how Cerebrospinal Meningitis (CSM) attack changed his chemistry of life as a nine-year-old primary two pupil, "I was a normal person for the first nine years of my life, so to later become deaf was something unusual and difficult for me. But I had wonderful parents who cared and catered for me. I continued with my education as if nothing had happened and adjusted to the new situation largely due to my immediate family members who exhibited greater understanding."

Nahuche's father, Alhaji Ahmad Nahuche, was an agriculturist that served as Divisional Inspector in the Northwestern state before his appointment as a junior Minister of Commerce during the civilian regime of former President Shehu Shagari. He died in 1981.

Apart from his supportive parentage, Nahuce also described himself as 'a very lucky man' because he suffered less discrimination both in school and the state civil service. "I am grateful to Almighty Allah for giving me nice colleagues everywhere I served. I was some how spared the usual stereotype people like me suffer. They always look at the prism of my ability and encouraged me," he said. Despite the sound working environment Nahuce has been enjoying through out his career, one denigrating fact which according to him remains, "they hardly call you by your name and the common name they usually refer to me is Kurma (Hausa word for the deaf).

But when Sunday Trust asked him how he carries out his functions in a situation where listening and talking becomes necessary? He replied that such demands hardly arose as all correspondence in the civil service are done in writing, thereby making it easy working in such environments. Though proficient in sign language, Nahuce hasn't had the cause to use that expertise here since he writes virtually all the time. For instance, this interview was conducted through the medium of writing.

Nahuce was born on April 23 1961 in Samaru, Gusau. His father's occupational mobility forced him to go through five schools for his primary education that started in LEA Primary School Daura, Katsina State in 1967 and ended in Dawaki Primary School, Abuja in 1974. He proceeded to Government Secondary School Abuja from 1974 to 1978. His date with the civil service also began when he was employed by the old Sokoto State Judiciary (Area Courts Division) in 1979.

He returned to school in 1983 as a Business Studies student at the Derby College of Education, Mackworth, United Kingdom. He was there for just a year as he got admission into Gallaudett University Washington DC in 1987 where he studied Accountancy and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1991.

His excellent performance as an undergraduate enabled him have a stint in the Payroll Department of the university as well as a Master Tutor where he helped weaver students in the area of Accountancy. As a young graduate it was easy for him to be employed by a Washington DC-based Group Health Association where he worked for a year and thereafter came back to the country and resumed his work at the Sokoto State Judiciary in 1992.

As an accountant it was not long before he was promoted and transferred to the state Ministry of Finance and later Sokoto Agricultural Development Project. In 1996, after the creation of Zamfara State, he was moved to Gusau and posted to the Finance Ministry Headquarters as head of the Central Accounts Department up to 1999. He thereafter headed the Internal Audit Department at the same time acting as Deputy Accountant General of the state for a period of one year. He was a Chief Accountant in Salaries Section until 2005 when he was appointed Permanent Secretary and posted to Zamfara Agency for Poverty Alleviation (ZAPA), ministries of Works and Transport, Information and again to ZAPA.

On the plight of the disabled the perm sec advised that "I want Nigeria to emulate the United States. There, you have an existing law that emphasies equal opportunity to all and prohibits all sorts of discrimination which is implemented to the latter. I don't think we have such law here, even if we do have no one is punished for violating it."

Though reluctant to comment on his family life, Nahuche said everything is okay with him in the home front. "I have six kids, four boys, two girls. Two of them are in secondary school and none of them is deaf. Though I want my kids to emulate me and study Accountancy, I will however not compel them to do what they do not want," he said.

When Sunday Trust asked what his future plans were, Nahuche smiled and replied in capital letters: "May be gun for Zamfara state governorship ticket one day." He added: "Well, why not? If a cosmopolitan and advanced state like New York in the United States can produce somebody classified as legally blind as a Governor, why can't I?" Adding however that he will certainly pick his hoe and head for the farm one day after retirement.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807071256.html

ICT facilities should be user friendly says Fedoma

BY Bonex Julius
16:06:52 - 07 July 2008

Executive Director of Federation of Disability Organisations in Malawi (Fedoma) Mussa Chiwaula said last week that information, communication and technology (ICT) facilities should be usable by all everyone, including people with disability, as they play a crucial role in a country’s development.

Chiwaula said this in Blantyre when his organization presented to disabled people phones that were donated by MTL, TNM and Celtel.

“The phones have come at a right time when we are building structures in rural areas where there is need for communication,” Chiwaula said.

He said currently his organisation is discussing with Celtel Malawi Limited to bring phones that would be used by all disabled people including the blind.

He said during the World Information Telecommunication Day, which was commemorated on June 17 under the theme “Connecting ICT to people with disability”, companies pledged to donate phones that would be distributed to the disabled branches throughout the country.

During that commemoration, Malawi Communication Regulatory Authority (MACRA) donated five computers that would be used in Fedoma’s resource centre.

Celtel Malawi donated 100 Cell phones, TNM donated 30 Cell phones, Malawi Telecommunication Limited (MTL) donated 10 wireless phones and Sky Band promised to connect the internet for Fedoma for one year.

Chiwaula asked other companies to emulate what these companies did and called upon the beneficiaries to use the phones for their intended purposes.

Each disabled organisation under Fedoma received three phones one from each of the three phone companies. Five people received phones for writing good essays on challenges that the disabled people face on ICT.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.dailytimes.bppmw.com/article.asp?ArticleID=10192

Danish gov. supports anti-poverty relief for physically challenged

The Ghana Federation of the Disabled and the Danish government have launched a project that will enable Persons with Disability leap out of poverty. The more than one million dollar project which starts this month is funded by DANIDA and will last for 18 months.The Director of Social Welfare, Mrs. Margaret Kutsoati who launched the project said her department will ensure that persons with disability realize their full potential.

The Executive Director of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled, Rita Kyeremaa Kusi mentioned the beneficiary groups as the Ghana Federation of the Disabled, Ghana Association of the Blind, and the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled. She hoped the project will improve the advocacy and lobbying roles of organizations dealing with issues relating to the physically challenged. The President of the Ghana Federation of the Disabled, S.K. Asare, was confident that the project will help to transform lives of individuals with disabilities in Ghana.

Posted on: Monday, 7, July, 2008 Source: GBC NEWS

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.dailytimes.bppmw.com/article.asp?ArticleID=10192

Dad sues over disabled boy

07/07/2008 16:29 - (SA)

Johannesburg - The father of a boy left disabled after being shocked by live electrical wires will sue the Nelson Mandela Bay municipality for R1.1m in damages on Tuesday.

The Herald Online reported that Mbulelo Mantla will claim damages before the Port Elizabeth High Court for the accident in Uitenhage in April 2000.

His son, Siphamandla, who afterwards spent nine months in hospital, lost all his fingers, the use of his right hand and suffered burns over his entire body.

Mantla said municipal employees negligently left live electrical wires in a public area.

"They should have known that leaving the power lines uncovered without disconnecting the cables from the power source could spell a potentially dangerous situation," Mantla says in court papers.

But the municipality said Siphamandla was warned not to touch the wires.

The R1.1m claim included R700 000 for future loss of income, R100 000 for future medical expenses and R300 000 for general damages such as suffering and pain caused by the accident.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2353402,00.html

State told to enforce Disability Act

Monday, 7th July, 2008

By Charles Kakamwa

IMPLEMENT the Disability Act 2006, the Government has been told. Francis Mugwanya, the director of Fathers’ Heart Ministries in Kampala, argued that the Act would, for instance, compel the owners of buildings to provide facilities that allow easy access for the disabled.

“There are so many buildings that I cannot access in Kampala like banks, hotels and toilets because they lack facilities for us,” said Mugwanya, who moves in a wheelchair.

Mugwanya was on Friday speaking during the handover of 95 wheelchairs valued at about sh30m to the disabled in Kamuli district.

The chairs were donated by the ministries in conjunction with the district pastors’ fellowship

The law would protect the disabled people’s rights to health services, employment and marriage, Mugwanya noted.

Kamuli speaker Thomas Kategere, said they would enact a by-law to punish the men who rape disabled women living on the streets.

“After making the women pregnant, these evil men deny responsibility, leaving the poor souls to suffer looking after the children.”

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/17/637809

Prince Harry in Lesotho for disabled centre project

Jul 8, 2008

MASERU (AFP) - Prince Harry was donning his work overalls on Tuesday as he joined in a project to revamp a centre for the disabled in the tiny African mountain kingdom of Lesotho, organisers said.

Harry, the third in line to the throne, was helping with the installation of wheelchair ramps throughout the 165,000 dollar Thuso Community Centre, currently home to a total of 43 children with profound physical and mental disabilities, but will eventually house up to 80 youngsters.

The 23-year-old, who recently undertook a two-month tour of duty with the British army in Afghanistan, was later due to take part in a football match organised by Kick4Life, a local charity which lured England's Italian coach Fabio Capello to Lesotho back in April.

Part of the funding for the building work has been provided by the local charity Sentebale which is also heavily involved in the fight against AIDS in the kingdom which is totally landlocked by South Africa.

Sentebale director Harper Brown said that the aim was to turn Thuso into the country's teaching and rehabilitation centre for disabled children, many of whom have found themselves orphaned by the pandemic.

In a briefing on Monday attended by the prince and reporters, Brown said that 80 people were dying every day from AIDS-related illnesses in a country with a population of around two million.

"Forty percent of Lesotho children are orphaned and the statistics are alarming. This is largely due to HIV AIDS," said Brown.

Harry is also due to visit the Lesotho Child Counselling Unit, just outside the capital Maseru, on Wednesday and also plans trips to a number of orphanages.

The prince has been a frequent visitor to Lesotho, spending two months working here during his gap year between school and university, and made a television documentary about the plight of the country's children in 2004.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jwGtvHD9WCunLzfE6QVwvl62l3QA

‘PWDs need more help’

KAMPALA-Different ministries should handle issues of the disabled. MP for the disabled Sophie Nalule on Saturday said the gender ministry, which currently handles issues of the disabled, was underfunded. She said since needs of the disabled cut accross, different ministries should help. “If a matter concerns education, let the education ministry handle it or if it is about health, let the line ministry help.”

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/219/638116

MIRACLE ON TWO LEGS

Boy who eats with his toes wants to be a doctor
>From MATTHIAS NWOGU, Umuahia
Thursday, July 10, 2008

At St. Vincent De Paul Physically Challenged and Mentally Handicapped Centre, Umuahia, there is no room for disability. The belief there is that every disability could be turned to ability and every child born or who develops disability could be assisted to make the best of his or her situation.

This was demonstrated at Patoria Hotel recently during the inauguration of Isaiah 58 House, an NGO that takes care of the handicapped, the underprivileged, widows and vulnerable children.

To drive home that the underprivileged could be helped to overcome or cope with their challenges, the organizers of the event had invited only cultural and drama groups made up of only handicapped persons. One of those, who participated in the drama of a troubled family was Master Chukwuebube Uzodinma, a handicapped child. In one of the scenes involving eating, he jolted the audience when he ate with his toes.

Though it could not be ascertained how and when Chukwuebube lost the use of his two hands, the two hands are shriveled and could not be used to do anything. Left alone he would have been a beggar as his condition is such that anybody with milk of human kindness would easily give him alms as he could not ordinarily do anything by himself.

Even when St. Vincent De Paul has given him hope, the little Chukwuebube, who is in primary four, says he hates begging just as he is determined to succeed in life as a medical doctor.
Chukwuebube, who speaks English language fluently, said he does not know the cause of his handicap but believes it will not stop him from becoming a medical doctor.

Becoming a medical doctor
I want to assist people who are sick to get well. I do not want people to suffer pains and I can do that if I’m a doctor.

Can you be a doctor without the use of your hands?
I can do it, even if I am the first person. If I can use my feet and toes to do what my hands and fingers should do, my teachers will teach me.

What can you do with your toes?
I can eat with my toes and very fast too and those who have fingers may not be faster. I brush my teeth with my toes. I write with my toes and my aunty says that my writing is very good. Nobody writes my exams for me. I also write it with my toes.

Chukwuebube who, however, stated that his sister washes clothes for him, said he learnt to use his toes to do what others do with their hands at St. Vincent De Paul School.
Chukwuebube was not alone in throwing aside the challenges of disability to enjoy his life, the deaf and dumb also did in one item of the entertainment.

It was dancing time for the deaf and dumb. With only one member of the troop who was normal without hearing disability, leading the dancers, the other ones danced in such a way that without being told, nobody would know that they were not hearing the beatings of the drums they were dancing to.
Rev Sister Vivian, who came with them, said the school has a cream of dedicated teachers who were committed to assisting physically challenged to grow up being useful to themselves and the society.
Representative of the wife of Governor Theodore A. Orji on the occasion, Commissioner of Women Affairs, Lady Chinedu Brown, said that Chukwuebube’s life reinforced her convictions earlier in the day when she had complained within herself as she was being pulled to an environment inspection by Chief (Mrs) Orji against her schedule that morning to have a rest.

She said that she quickly counselled herself that with the gift of good health she should not complain about work when others who would want to work are not healthy to do so. “But here I am now in this inauguration of Isaiah 58 to see live a person who is eating with his toes because he cannot make use of his hands.”

She commended the caregivers at St. Vincent De Paul for the hope they are giving to the inmates.
“As these children sing, wave hands, dramatize, eat with their toes, they demonstrate the need for all of us to be our brother’s keepers. I had wanted to complain, but something in me suggested I should not, after all I was healthy, had my hands, feet, eyes all working well. So, I decided not to complain and jumped out for the assignment.

“So, for me to come to see somebody who is using his toes to eat instead of the fingers, but I can use my hands, feet and eyes, I feel I have so much to give thanks to God for.”
Mrs Brown urged Nigerians to be challenged to respond to the needs of the handicapped in the society by donating for their welfare and assisting groups that are providing care for them.
The government, she said, should not be expected to do everything, adding that individuals have their personal roles to play in making life meaningful for the underprivileged.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.sunnewsonline.com/webpages/news/national/2008/july/10/national-10-07-2008-004.htm

Council to Monitor Disabled’s Welfare

2008-07-11
By Staff Reporter

WINDHOEK

Namibia has a National Disability Council, in keeping with the provisions of the National Policy on Disability, which was adopted in July 1997.

The council will monitor the implementation of policy and identify provisions in any law, which may hinder the implementation of policy, and comment on legislation which may affect persons with disabilities, in any manner.

Other objectives of the council are to consult with persons with disabilities, organisations of persons with disabilities and organisations rendering services to persons with disabilities, as well as take steps in order to obtain the necessary information on the implementation of the policy.

Yesterday, Minister of Health and Social Services Dr Richard Kamwi launched the council and announced the council members who include Tuuliki Nekundi, Joseph Ndinomupya, Alexia Manombe-Ncube, Beata Shihepo, Manfred Howaeb, Pamela Somses, Tjiueza Tjombumbi, Linda Conradie, Mercy Kufuna, Kay Strauss, Meliherius Haukambe, William Bekker and Nuusiku Asino, who will stand in for Dr Lisony Kahikuata-Kariko.

The members of the council represent various organisations of persons with disability, ministries of Health and Social Services; and Labour and Social Welfare; the Namibia Public Workers Union and an expert on disability related matters.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.newera.com.na/archives.php?id=21846

Ghana: Danida Supports Disabled Groups With $1.2 Million

Public Agenda (Accra)
11 July 2008
Posted to the web 11 July 2008

Frederick Asiamah & Yvonne Ablordeppey

The Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA) has provided approximately US$1.2 million to support the disability movement in Ghana through advocacy and capacity building over the next 18 months.

The sponsorship, coming through the Disabled People Organisation of Denmark (DPOD), is going to finance a project called "Strengthening the Disability Movement in Ghana," which is a joint initiative by the Ghana Federation of the Disabled (GFD) and two of its member associations - the Ghana Association of the Blind (GAB) and the Ghana Society of the Physically Disabled (GSPD).

Public Agenda is informed that the sponsorship money would go up depending on the outcome of the initial 18 months. Potentially, the period of sponsorship could extend over the next five years. Precisely, US$1,161,455 has been earmarked for the initial period of July 2008 to December 2009.

These were made known at the launching of the project, on Monday 7th July, 2008 at the Accra Rehabilitation Centre.

The idea for the project evolved from the need to increase strategic interaction among disability organizations to strengthen the advocacy and lobbying activities of the major actors and benefit the disability movements as a whole, according to Miss Rita Kyeremaa Kusi, Executive Director, GFD.

She mentioned that a key expected output of the project was to develop an advocacy strategy based on a complete analysis of the political, economic, social, cultural, technological and legal context in Ghana.

Mr S.K. Asare said the project included aspects such as advocacy, capacity building, networking, gender issues and micro-financing. He said its successful implementation "would go a long way to transform the lives of individual people with disabilities in Ghana."

In addition, he expressed optimism that it would help to make the GFD and the organisations of persons with disabilities (OPWDs) under it more effective and efficient.

"The project will also go a long way to increase the sustainability of the Federation and the OPWDs in Ghana," he said.

Mr Joseph Adu-Boampomg, President of the GSPD, was of the view that the project will go a long way in strengthening the capacities of the disabled and others related to them.

Mr Alexander Tetteh, National Administrator, GSPD also stated that the import of the project was advocacy that targeted society in general, particularly the family who need sensitization and education on the needs of persons with disability.

Mr Yaw Debrah, Vice President of GFD in charge of Advocacy, emphasized the fact that the media had a greater role to play in the project by bringing to the attention of the public, through publications, the needs of the disability movement.

He announced that as part of the project, an award scheme was being designed to honour media houses which took interest in and integrated disability issues into their reportage.

According to Mrs Margaret D.Kutsoati, Director, Department of Social Welfare, "The time of considering persons with disability as non-productive people is over."

She said the project provided evidence that the GFD and the various OPWDs was on a forward move.

She also declared, "The age of hiding children with disability is gone forever."

She promised that her outfit will work closely with PWDs and urged PWDs who were being ill-treated by social welfare officers to report such officials to her outfit for prompt action.

Ghana: Sports Ministry, Others Shun Disability Sports

Public Agenda (Accra)
11 July 2008
Posted to the web 11 July 2008

Frederick Asiamah

Twenty persons with physical disabilities (PWDs) in the Greater Accra and Volta Regions can now play basketball and table tennis after receiving training in the two disciplines at a one-day training programme recently held in Accra.

Twelve of the PWDs have training in basketball while eight others have training in table tennis. They comprise both men and women.

The workshop was part of the "Sports Development for the Disabled" initiative by the Sports Wing of the Ghana Society for the Physically Disabled (GSPD). It was the fourth in a series planned for the various regions as a means of decentralizing disability sports. The next one will feature the Eastern, Ashanti and Brong Ahafo regions.

The initiative has a two-and-a-half year sponsorship from the Danish Sports Organisation for the Disabled (DSOD) to the tune of US$40,000.

But for the boycott by top public officials invited for last Saturday's event, the event passed successfully. The Sports Minister, the Greater Accra Regional Minister, the National Paralympic Committee Chairman and a host of others all failed to turn up and did not send any representatives.

This held up the event for almost two hours. But Abdul Aziz Mohammed, Chairman, GSPD Sports Wing, told his charges that they were not perturbed by the attitude of officialdom. "The main aim was not to bring dignitaries," he said, adding, "disability sport is not their (government officials) priority."

All the same, he regretted that despite Ghana winning nine of her medals at the 2007 All Africa Games through disability sports the government has continued to ignore the category.

Later, he told Public Agenda he was grateful to the DSOD because until they offered to support disability sports, there was no financial support. His pre-occupation at the moment, he said, was to ensure the success of the initiative.

What he was not sure of, however, was the sustenance of disability sports after the current sponsorship deal has run out in July 2009. He therefore appealed to corporate bodies in Ghana and elsewhere to offer support for the development of disability sports.

Aziz certainly would not count on government support because "We don't get any money at all from the government of Ghana. They wait for international competitions and then select some of the people we have already trained."

Alfred Quarshie, Secretary to the Greater Sports team of GSPD told Public Agenda after taking the trainees through the basic skills and drills in basketball that their performances were encouraging. His worry, however, was the non-availability of disability sport wheelchairs.

Selorm Abusah, a tailor with five years experience was selected from the South Tongu for training in basketball. He said the training was good but they lacked facilities with which they could impart what they learned to their peers in the districts.

Anne-Marie Bourgeois is in Ghana doing a project work on disability sports and she says all over the world attention for disability sports is lower than expected but Ghana's case is woeful.

She regretted that some persons with disabilities were out there begging while those in GSPD were developing their potentials. To her, those on the streets begging "have a negative impact on what people think about disability."

On her part, Abigail Solomon, a physiotherapist and a friend of the disabled called for resources to be devoted to the course of the disabled. She said they needed encouragement. "People should come down to their level and understand them; then they will realize that they (PWDs) are normal people.

According to her, persons with disability have a lot of potential which needs to be tapped.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807110827.html

Deaf Federation bemoans non-sponsorship of programmes

Monday, Jul 14, 2008

The Nigeria Deaf Sports Federation (NDSF), has lamented the non-sponsorship of its programmes by corporate organisations and rich Nigerians.

Uzoma Edwards, the Vice-President of the federation, told newsmen that since inception, no organisation or individual had shown interest in its programmes.

“We should not be underrated or ignored, we are able and fit in all aspects of sports, Edwards said.

He commended the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) and the Nigeria Football League NFL for its recent donation of jerseys and footballs to the federation.

Accoridng to him, the NFA gave the federation two sets of jerseys and 20 footballs, while the NFL donated 20 footballs.

Edwards said the kit was being used for their preparation for the Africa qualifier in Ghana in August preparatory to the Deaflympic Games in Taipei, China in 2009.

He appealed to corporate bodies and individuals to assist the federation.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.thetidenews.com/article.aspx?qrDate=07/14/2008&qrTitle=Deaf%20Federation%20bemoans%20non-sponsorship%20of%20programmes&qrColumn=SPORTS

HRC steps in to help disabled man

15 July 2008 Penwell Dlamini

The SA Human Rights Commission (HRC) has responded to the plight of a near-blind man who has been kicked out of his job and flat because he cannot see after an injury incurred on his work premises.

April Rampeiwa was left almost totally blind after tenants of a block of flats in Florida, West Rand, assaulted him.

“Our disability rights coordinators and legal services will investigate Rampeiwa’s matter to see what can be done,” HRC spokesman, Vincent Moaga, told Sowetan.

Rampeiwa was a general worker at the block of flats where he was attacked in August last year.

He has already undergone one operation and another one is scheduled for November in a bid to save the eye.

Rampeiwa, 39, lost the sight of the other eye about 14 years ago in a car accident and now doctors are struggling to save the remaining one.

As if that is not enough, on July 1, his employer of 12 years fired him ? and kicked him out of the accommodation he had occupied for more than 10 years.

Rampeiwa said his employer told him his services were no longer necessary because “I cannot see following the vicious attack I suffered in the car park of the block of flats”.

He was admitted to Helen Joseph Hospital for a month after the attack, but when he was discharged, he learnt that his attackers had appeared in court on assault charges and that he he was not called as a witness.

Police spokesman Captain Lydia Mtila-Dikolomela confirmed that an accused was acquitted and another fined.

“We do not have the docket because the senior prosecutor at the Roodepoort magistrate’s court asked for it,” she said.

The National Prosecuting Authority said they were waiting for a report from the prosecutor .

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.sowetan.co.za/News/Article.aspx?id=801722

Arrivals: Simon Ash

Jul 17, 2008 13:41 | Updated Jul 17, 2008 13:44

By GLORIA DEUTSCH

When I first set eyes on Simon Ash at the absorption center in Ra'anana, he was having an animated conversation with a young woman he had just met. The two were speaking in sign language because Ash is profoundly deaf, and the girl he was chatting and smiling to was the interpreter who was going to help me communicate with him so I could tell his story.

In his rather bleak room on the fourth floor, we held our three-way conversation - Ash addressing Lee Dan (who is often seen in a small circle on the evening news broadcasts giving the news in sign language) and she translating all my questions and all his answers, often simultaneously. Since Ash could not hear or even notice if I asked a question, it became quite complicated at times. Fortunately he is very voluble, she is very professional and the picture became clear as we communicated.

I was also able to get information from his mother's first cousin, Barbara Abramowitz, who filled me in on the background.

He was born in Johannesburg 25 years ago and his road to making aliya alone last year is best understood by tracing the milestones in his young life. His mother, Sheryl, only began to realize there was a problem with her baby when he did not respond to noises or being called by his name. According to the cousin, the family was at first totally devastated by the discovery that Ash was deaf. "But they dealt with it," she says.

His bar mitzva in Johannesburg was an emotional roller-coaster ride for the entire congregation, Pine Street Shul. He said the blessings he had learned phonetically, and the rabbi gave his sermon to Simon in sign language which he had studied for a year before. There was not a dry eye in the synagogue that Shabbat.

As there was no Jewish facility for him, he was sent to a Catholic school for the deaf where, to his family's horror, he began spouting anti-Semitic diatribes he had heard from fellow pupils. His older brother took him to meetings of the Betar youth group to try and instill some Zionism in his wayward sibling. Much later these same friends, with whom he had studied for 14 years, began getting into drugs and alcohol and he wanted out. He decided he would like to try his luck in Israel and was greatly encouraged by the Betar emissary who suggested he go for a trial period as a volunteer and offered to take him under his wing.

BEFORE ALIYA

He says his mother suggested he look at a deaf site on the Internet and try and find an Israeli girl who would be able to ease his path once he was here. He made contact with a girl, they wrote to each other and she visited him in South Africa in mid-2006.

"We didn't have good communication," he says. "She used American Hebrew sign language and I only used South African and it was embarrassing."

The first time he came, he booked into the Ra'anana absorption center and shared a room with other immigrants. He had very little money but he did get to find out about facilities for the deaf and he met the people responsible for deaf sports and played soccer with them, a game he had excelled in in South Africa. For three months he volunteered as a coach at the Onim School for the Deaf in Kfar Saba.

He went back to South Africa after four months and informed his family that he was going to make aliya. They were very happy, despite their concern about the difficulties he might encounter, and they helped him through the bureaucratic process in South Africa and in March 2007 he arrived back at the absorption center.

UPON ARRIVAL

With money a constant problem he found a job in the Ra'anana parks and gardens department, and worked every day from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., outside in all weather and mostly hating every minute of it. In the evenings he would travel to the Helen Keller Institute in Tel Aviv to learn Hebrew sign language. When his mother visited in December, he stopped working and was accepted to the Beit Loewenstein program in which the deaf are taught on a higher level. This is what he is doing today. During this settling-in period, Simon was greatly helped by the Telfed Association and its various absorption services.

ROUTINE

He studies at Beit Loewenstein from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., just like a regular school. Then it's back to the absorption center for whatever activities have been laid on that he can participate in. He plays soccer for the deaf in the league sponsored by the Israel Deaf Sports Organization and goes to Tel Aviv three times a week to practice.

LIVING ENVIRONMENT

He has his own apartment with a kitchen attached, unlike on his first stint here when he had to share. Around the walls he has hung family pictures and articles about him that have appeared in the press in South Africa, in America when he toured with a soccer team and, of course, in the Jewish press with the story of his bar mitzva.

CIRCLE

He has a very good friend from Ramle who is also deaf and he often visits him and his wife on the weekend. He also has a large circle of soccer friends with whom he traveled to Eilat, where he discovered that he loved water sports. Other friends are mainly deaf for obvious reasons, but everyone seems to know him and people smile and wave to him as we pass.

FINANCES

He receives a small grant from the National Insurance Institute but mainly is living on savings at the moment.

FAITH

"I believe in God," he says. "No, I don't pray, I'm basically secular, but I'm grateful to be alive and I don't cry for what I haven't got. Do I get angry with the Almighty for having made me deaf - heavens, no!"

PLANS

"I'm hoping to learn to do something with my hands - perhaps become a plumber or a carpenter and be able to make a living. No, not gardening, that was traumatic. I'm not afraid of hard work and I'm not lazy. But one thing's sure - I'm happy to be in Israel."

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1215331005664&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Paralympics Committee Launches Disabled People Integration Project

Luanda, 07/20 - The Angolan Paralympics Committee on Saturday launched in Huambo province a project aimed at integrating disabled people into the society, said an official source.

Speaking to Angop at ‘’4 de Fevereiro’’ International Airport, the chairperson of the institution, Leonel da Rocha Pinto, said that the event was attended by representatives from 16 provinces of the country.

“For us children are the priorities and they must not be left out in the ambit of sports. The objective of the project is to integrate young disabled people. We are struggling for an integration process and not a process of exclusion. When I say no to exclusion, we mean that we want to see common schools and not schools for disabled people only, which is now discrimination”.

Handicapped Benefit From ANDA`s Projects In Six Months

Luanda, 07/21 - Over 4,300 disabled people along with their family members benefited during the first half of this year from projects implemented by the National Association of Angolan Handicapped (ANDA), said the institution`s official.

Inoque Bernardo said this Monday here while assessing the project “Come with Me” and of under-projects “Also Come with Me”, “Taxi-Motorbike”, “Supportive and Rehabilitate 7, promoted by the Ministry of Public Administration, Employment and Social Security, NGOs Causa Solidaria and the administration of Social Solidarity Fund (Lwini).

According to the secretary, from January to June this year, ANDA reintegrated 2,957 people, trained 142, resettled 250 and physically rehabilitated 263, in a total of 4,347 beneficiaries.

In the ambit of the "Come with me" project, ANDA is distributing 250 taxi-motorbikes across the country`s 18 provinces with view to minimize the plight of these citizens.

Founded in February, 1992, ANDA counts, currently, on 30,750 memberscountrywide.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=636266

Philanthropist gives to Disabled Sports

By gna
Sports News | Tue, 22 Jul 2008

A philanthropist and financier of the Association of Sports for the Disabled, Mr Daniel Arhin, on Tuesday donated two tricycles worth 6,000 Euros to the Association.

The donation is to aid the Association in training members of the national disabled team for various international assignments.

Mr Arhin said he was motivated by the performance of the members of the national disabled team at various international competitions.

He noted that he is looking forward to an improved performance at the impending Paralympic Games to be staged in Beijing, China next September.

Mr. George B. Awuakye, Chief Sports Development Officer (CSDO) of the National Sports Council (NSC) expressed appreciation to the donor and urged him not to relent in his efforts and assistance towards the development of sports in the country.

The Chief Development Officer said the Council needs the support of philanthropists and the corporate world to help develop and promote sports in the country, adding that “Mr Arhin deserves commendation from all.”

Mr Cornelius Adjaa Cofie, Chairman of the Association of Sports for the Disabled gave the assurance that his outfit will make judicious use of the equipment.

He said members of the Disabled Sports have the required potential to excel at the international level hence the need for adequate support from individuals and the corporate world.

Mr Adjaa Cofie who described the equipment as one of the latest innovations in disabled sports competitions, said “Ghana will now be in a better position to compete with other advanced countries on the international scene”.

He appealed to individuals and organizations to follow the footsteps of Mr Arhin and support the disabled to realize their potential in all spheres of life

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.modernghana.com/sports/175427/2/philanthropist-gives-to-disabled-sports.html

2 Disabled Athletes For Olympics

By Esther Yamoah
Thursday, 24 July 2008

Chairman of the Ghana Disabled Sports Association (GDSA), Rev Adja Coffie, has disclosed that Ajara Buzanka and Bostyo Nkegbe will represent the country at the Olympic Games in Beijing, next month.

Ajara competes in the 200 and 800 metres, while Bostyo runs the 100 and 200 metres in special running chairs - a tricycle specially made to suit their disability.

He told the Times Sports in an interview on Monday that Ajara is presently locked up in a Kumasi camp, while Bostyo who has benefited from a sponsorship package from Databank, camps in the U.S. He is expected back to Ghana by August 14.

Rev. Coffie has, however, appealed to the International Paralympics Committee (IPC) to help other equally good athletes of the association - Anita Forjuor and Patrick Obeng to take part in the Olympics.

He said people still do not believe that disabled sports have anything to offer society, calling on officials to help the sport to grow.

"Disabled Sports is basically to bolster the confidence level in the individual and to make them believe that they have a lot to offer the society, irrespective of their disability," he acknowledged.

He also lamented the lack of finance and facilities that would have enhanced their training.

"There is no place to gather the athletes for a comprehensive training and this has compelled some of them to resort to the act of begging in the streets".

Rev. Coffie, therefore, called on government to support the sport in order to attain the status it has aimed at.

"At the All Africa Games in Algeria last year, they were able to bring back home one gold, two silver and bronze medals", he stressed, adding if the sport is given the support it needs, more medals would be won for the country."

He noted that the Amputee Soccer Team has once been African Champions but could not go to Liberia to defend their trophy because of lack of sponsorship.

"The Government should invest in a sport like Disabled Sports which wins more medals for the country and is less costly as compared to other sports," he appealed.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.newtimesonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=17152&Itemid=213

Uganda: National Association of the Deaf to Receive USADF Funding

United States African Development Foundation (Washington, DC)
PRESS RELEASE
25 July 2008
Posted to the web 25 July 2008

Washington, DC

The United States African Development Foundation recently funded the Uganda National Association of the Deaf (UNAD) in an effort to empower deaf individuals in the East Africa country. The grant is designed to build UNAD’s capacity, further serving the deaf population in Uganda by building a training resource center.

USADF President Lloyd Pierson stated, “ADF prides itself in working with marginalized groups to improve their lives. Deaf individuals in Uganda are one such marginalized group and we are very excited to be funding projects which will greatly impact their lives.”

UNAD, with headquarters in Kampala, is a non-profit organization that represents the deaf community in Uganda and works with deaf individuals to improve their lives through skill acquisition and income generating activities. However, UNAD lacks the financial and technical capacity to respond to growing needs. The $234,504 grant will partially fund business, sign language, and information technology classes as well as skill training such as knitting and carpentry. UNAD will also focus on job placement for the graduates and evaluate their program.

ADF strives to fund projects which will develop economies in Africa. Through this grant, 820 UNAD training program graduates will have meaningful jobs and 1,000 graduates will start or improve their own business. By working with people at the grassroots level, ADF is able to expand economies across Africa.

Regional Program Coordination Chris Fowles stated that; “this grant will help bridge the communication gap between deaf and hearing persons, reduce the marginalization of the deaf people, and increase the number of literate deaf people with technical skills that enhance their economic and social opportunities for improved livelihoods.”

The United States African Development Foundation (USADF) is a United States Government agency dedicated to expanding access to economic opportunity in Africa. Currently USADF operates in 18 African nations. Over the past 25 years, USADF has directly funded nearly 1,100 African projects representing in excess of $150 million in support of African enterprises and local African communities. For more information on USADF, its programs and application guidelines, visit www.usadf.gov.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807250281.html

Rwanda: Focusing On the Rights of Those With Disabilities

The New Times (Kigali)
OPINION
28 July 2008
Posted to the web 28 July 2008

Immaculate Chaka
Kigali

One Love Project coordinator, Gatera Rudasingwa receive funds from MBCBC coordinators Darryl R. Towers and Meredith Daun.(File photo)

People with any kind of disability are human beings too with rights. In some societies, they unfortunately face discrimination and violence.

Disabilities may involve physical impairment; sensory impairment, cognitive or intellectual impairment, to mental disorders. A disability may occur during a person's lifetime or may be present from birth.

Disabilities are also physical or mental limitations that make it harder to perform normal daily activities.

A disability can range from severe to mild depending on how much it limits the person's ability to perform normal daily activities.

Every person, regardless of physical, sensory, cognitive, or intellectual impairment should be able to enjoy fundamental human rights.

Human rights are basic privileges and freedoms which everyone is entitled to.

According to Article 1 of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights; "All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood."

The Rwandan law relating to the protection of persons with disability in general; says that every disabled person shall be entitled to the same rights with other persons before the law. He or she shall be respected with entitlement to human dignity.

To mention a few benefits, the law gives a disabled person the right to live in the family under the same conditions as others.

"A disabled person is entitled to the right of freedom of expression on any general national, on any particular issue he or she is concerned with and shall have a role in the national development of his or her country in accordance with his capacity."

"I am so glad that the Rwandan government passed a law that protects people with disabilities, this law gives us (vulnerable people) courage to go forth and claim our rights," says Celestin Nzeyimana, the secretary general of the National Paralympics Committee, (NPC0 in Rwanda.

Commenting on the rights of people with disabilities in Rwanda Nzeyimana said; they have the right to education, the right to travel when ever they like, a right to life, sports and games, a right to work and a right to communication to mention but a few.

Nzeyimana explained to the New Times, that though these rights are in place, vulnerable people with disabilities still face stigmatization; disabled people are still given insulting, deeming names which make them feel inferior, rejected and not loved.

Among these names are (Kamuga, Gicumba, and kigoryi).

"I was also a victim of the abusive names, we have the right to good, sounding and meaningful names, people should stop calling us such names," laments Nzeyimana.

Elaborating on the right to sports and games, Nzeyimana said that this is one of the rights people with disabilities are fully enjoying though they still lack facilities. Both vulnerable women and men are participating in different games and sports.

The NPC is involved in over 10 games and sports training people with different disabilities; these games include volley ball, sit ball, goal ball for people with vision impairment, power lifting to mention but a few.

23 year old Cliff Muvunyi an athlete also a member of the NPC, says "disability is not inability; like any other normal people, disabled people have the right to good paying jobs. It is unfair for a disabled person to win a job competition and later is denied the job."

Those working class people with physical disability; whose offices are in flat buildings always find it difficult to perform as they cannot manage moving up and down stairs every day.

The building systems in Rwanda should consider people with complicated disabilities while building storied houses, says Muvunyi.

Article 18 of the disabled rights related to employment says; "No discrimination of any form shall be subjected upon a disabled person in matters related to employment.

However, a disabled person shall be given greater access to employment opportunities than any other citizen in case of equal capacities or incase of equal marks in competition."

People born with any disability have a right to live. It is unfortunate for a mother to kill her own child at delivery when found out that it has a certain disability. This babies right to life is also another issue that is sensitive and which should be handled strictly and seriously.

Children and adults with disability have a right to life, they do have to be killed in the fear of giving them extra attention and care. It is also said that such people have no reason to live because their life is expensive.

It is injustice of the greatest order to force someone to death. It is God who gives life to us all, and it should be Him to take it away, not us human beings.

The responsibility to make vulnerable people live happily starts right from the family level and then to other levels.

It will not be only the government to find a solution; it is every ones role to see that he or she brings a smile to any person with disability near him. Give a disabled person a reason to live by allowing him or her to enjoy all their human rights.

Bravo to the government of Rwanda. The government has put in place solid policies which favour people with disabilities to enjoy their rights.

Today disabled people are being represented in all levels of leadership nationally and in the East African community.

The government is also working with the various ministry departments to main-stream, the rights of the disabled in all their policies.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807281250.html

South Africa: Govt Depts Encouraged to Employ People With Disability

BuaNews (Tshwane)
28 July 2008
Posted to the web 28 July 2008

Gabi Khumalo
Johannesburg

Government departments and provinces have been urged to accelerate the employment of people with disabilities so that the 2 percent target set by government can be achieved sooner.

Speaking at a two-day National Disability Summit held on Monday at the Sandton Convention Centre, Minister in the Presidency, Dr Essop Pahad has urged government to take a decision to ensure that by the end of 2009; 2 percent of people employed within the public sector are persons with disabilities.

"We have done well as government regarding the issues of disability, but we are not there and still have a long way to go before we reach the target," said the minister.

One province which has met the target is the Limpopo Province.

Mr Pahad acknowledged the provincial government for its success in meeting the target and encouraged other provinces to find out how the province managed to achieve this.

The Disability Summit aims to bring together stakeholders from government and civil society to discuss the implementation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).

It will also strengthen the existing partnerships between government and civil society and different civil society organisations.

The UNCRPS came into force on 3 May and South Africa, as one of the first signatories of this convention and its optional protocol, will now be held accountable for the implementation of the convention.

Themed "Justice and Dignity for all", the summit will develop a united front to implement and monitor the UNCRPD. It will also inform a united and practical action plan for the implementation and monitoring of the UNCRPD.

Minister Pahad urged all political parties to put more people with disabilities in Parliament's National Assembly and provincial legislatures.

He also encouraged people with disabilities to form a united disability movement to help achieve their goals as a collective.

"Use this summit to socialise and get to know each other because in the end you can act for a common purpose, the outcome will assist us to take the struggle forward."

He urged them to tell government where it had failed and to help it address the weaknesses and gaps.

South African Human Research Council Chairperson Jody Kolapen said they had established a unit which monitored the human rights of people living with disabilities.

"We are not doing a favour by employing people with disability, it's their Constitutional right," said Mr Kolapen.

Lorrain Bam, a public servant with a disability, said employment access and transport were the major challenges for people with disability in the public service.

"A large percentage of people with disability have no access to essential basic services including health and education, we are not being consulted on major projects launched in the country on how they will affect us like Gautrain and taxi recapitalisation as most disabled people finds it difficult to use them," she said.

Ms Bam said government should look at the availability of resources for people living with disabilities in rural areas.

"In terms of policies, government is doing very well but it lacks the implementation," Ms Bam told BuaNews.

Mmanare Kgaka, who is employed at the Department of Education in Limpopo and living with a disability, cited the access to buildings as a major challenge for people with disability as well as the lack of availability of reception staff who know sign language.

"Everytime a person goes to the building, they need to be accompanied by a person who can interpret for them. Government policy persuades the government to ensure that we are being looked after but the implementation is too slow," Mr Kgaka said.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807281156.html

Disabled Persons Bill for tabling this year

Dailynews Reporter
Daily News; Tuesday,July 29, 2008 @00:02

A Bbill envisaging to protect and safeguard the interests and welfare of persons with disabilities is scheduled for tabling in the House in the 2008/09 financial year, it was revealed here yesterday.

The Deputy Minister for Finance and Economy, Mr Omar Yusuf Mzee, said a policy that would facilitate implementation of the Bill was endorsed by the Ministerial Cabinet four years ago. “I would like to assure you that this Bill will be tabled this financial year,” said Mr Mzee on behalf of the Minister for Health and Social Welfare, Dr David Mwakyusa.

Ms Margareth Mkanga (CCM-Special Seats) had wanted to know when the Bill would be brought before the House. The deputy minister said the draft bill for people with disability was already in place and that the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare was now preparing a cabinet notification.

The UN General Assembly adopted the first UN convention to protect the rights of the disabled two years ago. Mr Mzee said the convention requires countries to adopt laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of any form of disability.

Its purpose is to "promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity." Upon ratification, participating nations must eliminate any existing laws that discriminate against the disabled.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://dailynews.habarileo.co.tz/editorial/index.php?id=6205

Uganda: School Brings Hope to Deaf Children

The Monitor (Kampala)
29 July 2008
Posted to the web 28 July 2008

Joseph Mugisa
Kyenjojo

Sylvia Atuhurra, 21, is one of the five pioneers of Kinyinya unit of the deaf located in Kyegegwa Sub-county, Kyaka in Kyenjojo District.

The unit was started in 1998 under the initiation of Ms Florence Kabasomi, Atuhurra 's mother.

Ms Kabasomi says she started the unit so that her daughter and other children born deaf and dumb could learn how to read and write. It is located in Kinyinya Village, Kihamba Parish, Kyegegwa Sub-county, Kyaka in Kyenjojo District.

"I developed the idea to start Kinyinya Unit of the Deaf after realising that my beautiful daughter, Sylvia Atuhurra, who was 11 years old then, would never talk," Ms Kabasomi says.

She says Atuhurra sat for PLE last year, but failed.

Atuhurra and other pupils like her failed their exams because UNEB didn't send sign language teachers to help them in the examinations.

"We parents and teachers of deaf children are appealing to UNEB to always send sign language teachers to help our children during examinations," she says.

Ms Kabasomi says she was very happy that her daughter can now read and write and communicate with others using sign language.

The unit attached to Kinyinya Primary School serves western Uganda and part of the Buganda region and estimated to have more than 20,000 deaf children.

The children can now read, write and communicate with other people, a golden chance they would have missed if the unit was not started.

The programme officer of the Uganda National Association of the Deaf, (UNAD) development project for Kabarole and Mbarara, Mr Thomas Ajambo, says Action Aid Uganda in partnership with UNAD provided funds which were used to start the unit.

Mr Ojambo says the unit, which started with only four pupils and became fully operational in 2002, now has 120.

"Being able to write, communicate and read make deaf children at the unit much happier," he said.

Mr Ojambo says with support from central and local governments and development partners, the unit will one day meet its dream of teaching all deaf children in the region how to write, read and communicate.

The development partners, who have given support to the unit include; Action Aid, WFP, Save the Children , students from Netherlands and the Lions Club of Kyenjojo.

"Children with disabilities are missing out on many government programmes like education for all because of the disregard parents have for them," Mr Ojambo says.

He calls on government to consider starting a countrywide campaign to sensitise parents of deaf and dumb children that such children are equally important.

He asked government to give the unit funds for buying fire-fighting equipment, building a dining hall and more dormitories so that the girls are separated from the boys.

Other facilities needed urgently include well-motivated and qualified teachers in special needs education and training materials like books in sign language.

The unit currently has only three teachers and that staffing shortfall is responsible for the small number of pupils at the unit.

"The dropout rate is high at this unit because of few teachers.

We should have 150," Ms Kisembo the headteacher of the unit says.

She says the unit needs enough teachers because deaf children learn slowly unlike those who can hear.

As a measure to promote sign language learning, Mr Ojambo said the unit is planning to start a sign language club for Kinyinya Primary School to bridge the gap between the deaf children and the hearing.

The unit will train teachers in sign language, raise awareness on the education needs of the deaf children and educate the policy makers about the concerns of the deaf children.

He asked parents with deaf children to take them to the unit for training so that they can benefit from the government's programme of education for all.

"Our major aim at this unit is to teach deaf children how to write, read and communicate so that they can get employment and be self- reliant," he says.

Ms Grace Ampaire, the deputy headteacher of Kinyinya Primary School says some parents cannot afford to keep their children at the unit because of they are not able to pay the Shs4000 school fee.

She says some parents take their children to the unit and do not visit them for a whole year. "Dumping children at the unit is one of the serious problems the unit is facing," she adds.

The Kyenjojo District LC5 councillor for people with disabilities, Mr John Nyandera said there was need to carry out a census of all the deaf and blind children in the region for proper planning.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://allafrica.com/stories/200807281865.html

Division Within GSPD Causing Harm

By Samuel Opare Lartey, Koforidua - The Ghanaian Times
General News | Tue, 29 Jul 2008

MANY divisions and groups within the Ghana Society for Peoples with Disabilities (GSPD), is doing the society more harm than good.

Programmes and proposals presented by the different groups within the society are scrutinised with suspicion anytime they want help from the district assemblies thereby delaying assistance.

Emmanuel Asante Boateng, chairman of the society disclosed this to the Times in an interview, calling on his colleagues in the country to unite to enable their voices to be heard in society.

This was at the recent donation of rubber cutting machines to the Ghana Federation of the Disabled at Koforidua.

Mr Boateng noted that the Federation for the Disabled is the mother society and all the rest were created out of it but because they all have different agendas from that of the mother club/association, any time they meet there is a problem.

He appealed to all the various groups to come together as one people and join the main disabled association which is the Federation of the Disabled to enable them present one common front to fight for what is due them in the society.

"We are being cheated too much but we are all part of the nation", he said.

Mr Boateng also said some people are taking the advantage of the vulnerability of the disabled to form other associations to solicit funds on behalf of the disabled.

He appealed to the society to be careful of such unscrupulous people.

The chairman for the National Bureau for Students with Disabilities Mr George Sarpong also said that their focus was mainly on students with disabilities.

He said that the NBSD's main aim was to look for scholarships for students with disabilities in the tertiary, senior high, junior high and the basic schools in the Eastern Region.

He said that the group also seeks medical care and assistance for disability and trained some on batik tie and dye.

Mr Sarpong said that because they are not under the Federation of the Disabled People, the batik tie and dye project which was established for them by the New Juaben Municipal Assembly with support from some British NGOS is at the verge of collapse.

"We are not able to solicit funds to support the project because we are disintegrated."

He also appealed to all the physically disabled persons in the country to come under one umbrella to enable them do something meaningful for the development of the nation.

【付記】上記ニュースのURL
http://www.modernghana.com/news/176333/1/division-within-gspd-causing-harm.html

JICA研修「アフリカ障害者の地位向上コース」

詳細は未定ですが、今年もJICA研修「アフリカ障害者の地位向上コース」が8月中旬から9月下旬にかけて行われます。期間中、３回の公開セミナーも予定しています。

公開セミナー 「人間の安全保障とＪＩＣＡの障害者支援」

コーヒーアワー　「障害と開発」シリーズ　第14回 『ろう運動の南南協力〜ケニアからモンゴルに伝えること』