Build capacities of PWDS rather than give them donations - CEPD exec director advocates

The Executive Director of the Center for Employment of Persons with Disabilities (CEPD), Alexander Kojo Tetteh, has urged the public to help persons living with disabilities by helping them build their capacities.

He explained that instead of making occasional donations to them, such energies should rather be committed into giving PWDs sustainable skills.

He stressed that PWDs should be economically empowered so that on their own, they can support themselves.

According to a report by disabilitynewsgh.com, Alexander Tetteh explained that a major lacking feature of PWDs is the lack of job opportunities.

“We have people donating money and food items to us. How long can this take us? When we need these items, the basic needs, we can’t wait till somebody is touched to donate the things to us before we can get them?

“We want to have the financial strength to be able to afford these things. If we need food, we should be able to buy food. If we need wheelchairs, we should be able to buy wheelchairs. If we need crutches, we should be able to buy them. If we need to go for recreation, go for holidays, go sightseeing and do other things, we should be able to afford it. And we can only afford it when we are working.

“So, we want the public and the state to support disabled people to build their capacity to be able to work; to be able to generate income so that they can afford anything anytime they need it,” he appealed.

Alexander Tetteh was speaking when the Young People’s Guild (YPG) of the Bethlehem Congregation of the Presbyterian Church of Ghana, Tema North District, donated 70 pieces of crutches to his organization, for distribution to persons with disabilities.

The donation formed part of the group’s youth and student’s week celebration.

Meanwhile, catch up on the concluding part of Francis Addai-Nimoh's interview on GhanaWeb TV below:



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