Twenty-five persons with disabilities graduated on Wednesday from a skills training programme hosted by the Open Doors Centre.
The centre benefits from support from the Ministry of Health and other entities and it offers differently-abled persons the opportunity to participate in two years of training in four subject areas. According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release, participants were trained in Information Technology, Carpentry/Joinery, Garment Construction and Electronic/ Electrical Engineering.
The sessions also comprise four weeks’ work attachment and are supported by remedial education, guidance counselling, life skills and small business management. The latter was introduced because the centre recognizes that not all the trainees may be able to attain employment after training and may have to become entrepreneurs.
Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at the Ministry of Health, Dr Shamdeo Persaud, in his address, said that the ministry is committed to supporting interventions that seek to ensure the inclusion of persons with disabilities into the larger society. “The Ministry will do whatever needs to be done to assist them along this path,” he said. For this reason, Persaud said that the “ministry [would] like to recommit its pledge to the Open Doors programme … and will continue to work in collaboration with the supporting agencies to ensure the continuity of the programme.”
Dr Persaud congratulated the graduates, telling them that their achievement “is a testimony of how a person can overcome many challenges.” He also urged them not to discount themselves from or allow others to take them out of the equation of society’s development. “You are still able to contribute to our society and to your self development,” he added. The CMO also told the graduates that they demonstrate to everyone that through training, dedication and commitment, they can achieve just as much as persons who do not have disabilities.
In addition, Chief Education Officer, Ministry of Education Olato Sam said that special needs education is the key to realizing the full potential of those with disabilities. He noted that educating such persons demand greater focus therefore, the ministry has placed great emphasis on inclusive education and has included it in its Education Strategic Plan.
According to Sam, the ministry aims to retool, restructure and reorient education to ensure that inclusive education, encompassing the education of those with disability is imbedded into the everyday educational practices of Guyana. He noted that “oftentimes when we hear of the success of persons with disability we are awestruck but if we were able to provide the range of need services, retooling the education system so that they are an essential part of our everyday practices then we should clearly expect the things that they have, without them doing something special for us to be amazed by.”
Manager of the Open Doors Centre Arthur Lewis said that providing vocational education for persons with disabilities gives them hope as it equips them with a means of earning their own living and becoming independent. He noted that the Centre is proud of its achievements in this regard and this convocation exercise is significant as it comes at a time when the Centre is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
