By Shadrach Aziz Kamara
Sight Savers Sierra Leone, with support from Irish Aid for a Better World citizenship participation project, on Wednesday 26th 2024, engaged persons with disabilities across the country for their voices to be heard.
The engagement and consultation, aimed at facilitating disabilities issues, took place at Sight Savers headquarters, Congo Cross, Freetown.
The Country Lead, SightSavers Sierra Leone, Tiangay Goundoe, assured persons with disabilities that after the upcoming world leaders summit in New York this September, their voices will be heard, adding that they discussed the challenges of disabilities.
“We can’t sit at our office and get details by ourselves if we don’t consult. This gathering is to discuss the issues you want world leaders to know,” she affirmed.
She continued that the summit of the future will accelerate the progress of the sustainable development goal, adding that nobody will be left behind, especially persons with disabilities, as they too deserve to live a normal life just like any able person.
According to the Country Lead, they can’t just assume that leaders were doing what they were supposed to be doing, as there was not much progress as to what she advocated for.
She encouraged all persons with disabilities to talk about issues affecting them so that authorities concerned will provide solutions so that they can see how they can work together for the betterment of all PWDs.
Youth Advocate and Ambassador, Basiru Bah, emphasized that the Summit of the Future is one in a lifetime, adding that the sister event provides the opportunity here needs will be immediately assessed by world leaders who are taking disability issues very seriously.
Representative of Women With Disability, Yearning For Equal Opportunity, Amanda Mondeh, asserted that it is sad that there were only three schools in the whole country for the disabled, only one in Freetown, and appealed for the government to do more for those with hearing impairment.
The Executive Director of the Sierra Leone Association of Persons With Disability, Mohamed Osman Kamara, advised PWDs that they will always be aware of their rights and responsibilities in society, adding that the government has made free payments for them, which most of them were not aware of.
Samantha Ridge, representative of Students With Special Needs at Fourah Bay College, called for intervention in their situation, as they were now thrown out of exams to pay extra charges that used to be free.
