Ghana Society for the Disadvantaged calls for help

Accra Dec. 15, GNA - Mr Eric Ohene Adjei, Manager, Centre for the Society for the Disadvantaged, non-profit organization, on Thursday appealed to the Government to bail out the Home from its financial crisis.

Mr Ohene Adjei, who was speaking at an end of year party organised by the Home for the trainees said: "The Government has not been supportive in the running of the home."

The party was a way of wishing the trainees a Merry Christmas to make them feel wanted and to launch an appeal for fund in aid of building a female hostel.

He said the society and the nation had a great responsibility towards those unfortunate persons, who through no fault of theirs had become disabled.

"To leave people with disabilities untrained means a double loss to the nation, because not only does the nation lose their potential output but also bears the responsibility of maintaining them", he said. He said it was important for all sectors of the economy to pool resources to support a Government programme of equalizing opportunities for people with disabilities.

The Centre, formerly the Kaneshie Cripples Home, was established in 1958 by a joint effort between the Social Welfare Department, civil society groups and philanthropists as a transit quarters for the physically challenged, especially the crippled that were undergoing medical rehabilitation.

It later introduced the vocational programmes as a means of equipping the physically challenged to be productive to their societies. The vocational programmes included tailoring, dressmaking, shoemaking, batik, tie and dye and computer science. Mr Ohene Adjei said the Home was training 15 persons including four females, currently.

He said the major problems facing the Home were the high cost of utility bills and money to run the Home, saying the Home currently owes utility bills to the tune of 22 million cedis.

The support from individuals, companies, society and groups was not enough to run the Home, adding that "we cannot run the Home on charity alone but with the collective efforts of Government and all." Mr Ohene Adjei said the quarterly remitted subvention of six million cedis given to the Home by the Ghana National Trust Fund was woefully inadequate considering the huge expenditure of the Home. He said this year's third quarter fund had not yet been received and the year was already ended, "how do they expect us to run an efficient society?" he questioned.

He, therefore, called on the Government to cover the payment of the Home's utility bills and payment of teachers since charity alone could not help to sustain and development the Home.

Madam Gilbertson from the Accra Ridge Church said Christianity was not all about going to church and praising God but reaching out to people, who needed help in the society and that was why the Ridge Church had been supporting the Home for the past 12 years. The Victory Chapel, Kaneshie branch and the Word Miracle Church, Circle branch donated an undisclosed amount as their contribution to the building of the female hostel. 15 Dec. 06