Ghanaians urged to protect rights of children with disability

The Day of the African Child has been marked with a call to all to unite their efforts to protect children with disability from abuse and discrimination.

Mr. Supreme Wellington Agbovi, Administrator of Compassion International, Ghana, a child-centred NGO, said their rights must be respected and they needed to be provided same opportunities to develop their talents as any normal child.

The Day is celebrated on June 16, every year, to honour those killed in the Soweto uprising in 1976.

“Rights of children with disabilities, duty to protect, to respect, to promote and to fulfil” was the theme for this year’s event held at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

More than 2,000 children gathered for the celebration – engaging in cultural dance performances, poetry recital and talent discovery.

Mr. Agbovi said the wrong perceptions people had about those with disability must change, adding that, they deserved “our love”.

They should be made “to feel wanted” to boost their self-confidence and self-esteem.

He advised parents of children with special needs to take good care of them, to give them education to enable them to become useful to themselves and the society.

He called for institutions and bodies, which had been organizing talent and reality television shows to include in the shows, children with disability “because they also have talents to showcase.