Persons living with disability benefit from fund

Twenty-eight persons living with disability have received monies from the Tema Metropolitan Disability Fund to improve their lot.

Twenty-seven of the beneficiaries, who are traders and artisans, received GH¢ 500 each while one other person received GH¢ 950 to pay his medical bills.

Mr Baba Abu Abdulai, Chairman of the Tema Metropolitan Assembly's Disability Fund, said a total of Gh¢ 13,795 was disbursed to the 28 beneficiaries.

Mr Abdulai said the beneficiaries were made up of the physically disabled, visually impaired and hearing impaired.

He said over the past two years, over 400 persons with disability had been helped with their businesses, medical bills and school fees in fulfillment of the disability fund, Act 715.

He explained that the Act required every assembly to set aside two per cent of its share of the District Assembly's Common Fund as seed money for activities to improve the lives of the disabled.

Baba Abdulai said the fund committee would monitor the businesses of the beneficiaries to reward the best in various categories of disability which are; physically disabled, hearing impaired and visually impaired.

He said special allocation of monies would be awarded to these persons as prizes to help expand their businesses to enable them to employ some of their colleagues.

Mr Isaac Ashai Odamtten, Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive, urged all disabled persons in the metropolis in small scale businesses to contact the assembly to pick and fill a form to enable them to benefit from the fund.

Mr Odamtten encouraged them to take advantage of educational programmes and seminars organised for them to build their capacity.

He gave the assurance that Government would continue with all its social intervention programmes despite some financial challenges.

He tasked the fund managers not only to disburse the monies but must help bridge gaps between the disabled and the assembly and other establishments.

Madam Christiana Nkrumah, Financial Secretary of the Ghana Society for the Physically Disabled, Tema Branch, and a beneficiary, thanked the TMA for the support.

She called for more to be done to make the lives of the disabled, especially the poor ones, a little comfortable.

She bemoaned the stigmatisation and discrimination they faced in all aspects of life.