Advocate calls for implementation of Disability Act

Leonard Cheshire Disability Young Voices Guyana President, Stacy Johnson cutting the ribbon to commission a ramp for disabled persons at the Education Lecture Theatre, University of Guyana, last year

President of Leonard Cheshire Disability Young Voices Guyana, Stacy Johnson has called on persons to support the implementation of the Persons with Disability Act.
In a recent interview with Guyana Times International, Johnson said persons with disabilities deserve equal treatment as everyone else in society. She noted that persons with special needs should familiarise themselves with the act and the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
However, the advocate for the disabled said in the past five to 10 years, physically-challenged persons have received greater recognition, thanks to the support from government.
“I think more strides are being made now by the government to fully include persons with disabilities… I think the act was very pivotal for persons with disabilities, to be fully included in society and to be recognised as a vital part of society,” she said.
Johnson said too that the public is now more accepting of persons with disability, notably through the work of the government and her organisation in raising public awareness of the problem.
The Persons with Disability Act, was passed in the National Assembly and assented to by then President Bharrat Jagdeo in late 2010. The enactment of this legislation served to protect and fulfill the rights of persons with disabilities. The act provides for the protection of the rights of persons with disabilities; and some of these rights include employment, education, recreation and transportation.
Differently-able persons experience discrimination and are disadvantaged in these areas on a daily basis – something the act’s implementation is expected to address by way of encouraging equal access and opportunities for all.

Education
Johnson also noted that more emphasis needs to be placed on primary and secondary education for the disabled.
“At Ptolemy Reid Rehab Centre where I work, there are many children there, the only reason they are attending school there is because the mainstream schools cannot physically accommodate them, they can do well in the mainstream school and cope academically, but the schools are just not equipped to facilitate them.”
This, she said is a major setback for these students, noting that if most schools were equipped to cater for them, their challenge would not been seen as a problem.
The International Day for Persons with Disabilities was observed on December 3, under the theme “Removing barriers to create an inclusive and accessible society for all”.