Minister of Human Services and Social Security Priya Manickchand said she is pleased with the strides groups supporting deaf persons have made and she urged participants in the Fifth Annual Deaf Awareness Week to collaborate so that they can identify and advocate for changes that will boost the lives of persons living with this disability.
At the launch of the observances on Sunday at Herdmanston Lodge the minister said she learnt something from each of the deaf awareness activities that she attended. In this regard, she noted that the word dumb is no longer used when referring to persons with hearing and speech problems; instead the word deaf is used, a press release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said.
The week of activities is being held under the theme ‘Together we can; together we will.’ Representatives from the Deaf Support Group, Kitty Deaf Club, Guyana Deaf Mission, and the Guyana Community-Based Rehabilitation (CBR) aim to create awareness of the challenges faced by deaf persons, the strategies that can be used to improve their well-being and their experiences with the hearing community during the week-long programme.
Even as awareness is ongoing there are still some persons who are ignorant of the issue and are ashamed of family members who have disabilities; while there are others who keep themselves far away from persons with disabilities, particularly deaf persons. Manickchand emphasised that both hearing and hard-of-hearing persons should work together to overcome those challenges and she advocated that activities such as Deaf Awareness Week should be ongoing. She added that government stands ready to partner with the many groups to ensure that hearing and hard-of-hearing persons live a quality life. As regards deaf persons, this partnership ensures that they receive services that are offered by government and non-governmental organisations.
According to GINA, the minister said government is keen to support all the vulnerable groups and many initiatives have been implemented to secure the welfare of senior citizens, children, women and particularly disabled persons. This year the Disabilities Bill was drafted and the ministry is working towards registering all persons with disabilities countrywide. The ministry will be collaborating with the Disabilities Commission to step-up its registration process, so that planning can be effective.
Manickchand commended the organisations which focus on disabilities but said there is need for more collaboration among them. This will result in more responses from persons outside the organisations and improve the lives of those within. In recognising a lack of resources, which result in restricted networking, she called on participants to resolve to find ways to collaborate.
The minister also said she was pleased with the work service providers, NGOs, government and deaf persons are doing to examine where they are, where they want to be and how best they can get there. It is expected that this introspection will result in concrete action being taken next year.
Head of the CBR programme Geraldine Mason-Hall pointed out that so far the Guyana Police Force is realizing its role in improving the lives of deaf persons, particularly in addressing sensitive issues.
She said the Ministry of Education has been making strides towards ensuring that children with disabilities have access to education in special schools and in the mainstream school system. Teachers are also being exposed to training in basic sign language and awareness sessions.
