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The Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFDO) in the Sekyere East District, has appealed for support from the government and other relevant bodies, in aid of the construction of a skills training facility at Effiduase.
The disabled-friendly resource/training centre, which would be part of an office complex project, is expected to be a one-stop rallying point, where all citizens with such challenges in the District, would be mobilised for employable skills training and make them financially-self-supporting.
Mr Kwabena Asiamah, President of the group, making the appeal through the Ghana News Agency, said the areas of training would include; rabbit and grass cutter rearing, bead, soap and shoe-making.
He said the initiative, would be the way to give employable and entrepreneurial skills to take the physically-challenged out of poverty and reduce their dependency on their families.
“We are of the conviction that “Disability is not inability”, this is a move to make the physically-challenged important national assets, who can contribute to the country’s economic advancement.
“It would also earn us public respect and reduce the stigmatisation most often suffered by the physically-challenged, who are forced to beg for their daily bread on streets”, he added.
However, the President said, his group is unfortunately restricted in this poverty-alleviation bid, by the lack of this facility.
Mr Asiamah said the office complex would also comprise toilets and a borehole water facility as well as a warehouse, where donated disability aids like wheel chairs and other stationery and other training materials, would be kept.
He could not immediately give the total estimated cost of the project, but said the first phase which would see the construction of a three-storey building, would cost in excess of GHC100,000.00.
Touching on the group’s finances, he said, the main source of financial and material support for them was from the District’s mandatory Disability Fund, which was annually distributed to individual members.
He commended Nana Adu Ameyaw II, the chief of Effiduase, who had already donated a parcel of land to the group for the purpose and said the group, set up in the District about 25 years ago, has a membership of over 450 and is made up of the Ghana Society for the Physically Disabled (GSPD), Ghana Blind Union (GBU) and the National Association for the Deaf (NAD).
