Over one hundred people living with various forms of disabilities have been schooled in business and financial management to prepare them on how to use their share of the District Assembly’s Common fund.

The training, which would equip the participants with entrepreneurship and small business management skills, would allow the People With Disabilities (PWDs) to manage the bursaries that would be allocated to them through the district common fund.

Dr David Azari, President of the Blind Union in the Upper East Region and Secretary to the Federation for People living With Disabilities in Bawku, said this during a two-day workshop organized for the PWDs by the National Board for Small Scale Industries (NBSSI) at Bawku.

He said the objective of the training is to improve on the skills of participants on how to start, run and grow their businesses to promote and improve on their livelihoods.

Dr Azari urged the participants to take the training seriously as it is the best opportunity for them to better their lives and bring about quality living conditions to their communities.

He urged them not to see themselves as liabilities because their disabilities were not inabilities.

Dr Azari called on the society not to look down on their disability but should rather support them as they meet obstacles in the society.

Mr Charles Akpeniba, Bawku Chairman for the Federation of People living With Disabilities, commended the government for its timely initiative to empower them to use the skills acquired at the workshop to better their lives.

He called on non-governmental organizations, philanthropists, and development partners to emulate and support the PWDs as they face challenges as they strive to make ends meet.

The workshop brought together participants including the deaf and dumb, and hearing impaired, visually impaired and the physically challenged to equip them with skills in hair dressing, building and construction, shoe-making, carpentry and block moulding, petty trading, and soap-making amongst others.