PWDs in UE improve upon advocacy skills

By Samuel Adadi Akapule , Bolgatanga

Some Persons With Disabilities(PWDs) in the Upper East Region dropped out of school in 2012 because some assemblies in the region diverted monies meant for them under the District Assemblies Common Fund (DACF) into other activities. Speaking to the Ghanaweb in an interview in Bolgatanga at the weekend, Mr Ahmed Awale, the Project Director of the Rural Initiatives for Self Empowerment Ghana (RISE-Ghana), explained that in 2012 most of the assemblies in the region did not release the two per cent of the DACF, thereby forcing some children with disability and children from homes of PWDs to drop out of school.

He said these Assemblies grossly violated the guidelines for the disbursement of the DAC F by misappropriating and borrowing from the two per cent of the DACF and instead blamed the situation on the huge population of PWDs who were uninformed about their rights and the lack of the needed information, voice, confidence and capacity to exercise and claim their rights.

Mr Awale indicated that following the difficulty in PWDS accessing funds from the assemblies, his outfit sourced funds from some donor organizations to organize training workshops for people with disabilities to effectively advocate to access loan facilities including the two per cent of the District Assembly Common Fund (DACF).

This achievement, he noted, was made possible through a project dubbed “Using Creative Advocacy and Stakeholder Dialogue to Promote Disability Rights and PWDs Participation in Local Governance” funded by the German Agency for International Cooperation and the Ghana Centre For Democratic Development.

Mr Awale however stated that after several fora on the project, capacities of PWDs have been built in the area of advocacy and enough information given them to increase their advocacy strengths in issues affecting them.

He noted that a total number of 42 PWDs drawn from four PWD Networks benefitted from the training and a total of 33 stakeholders from the Talensi and Kasena-Nankana Municipality made up of NGOs, Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies were sensitized on inclusive development, disability rights and provisions on the disability act.

He said PWDs no longer lacked the voice, space and the capacity to participate in decision-making on issues affecting their very lives and the necessary skills to plan and engage in power to demand their rights, adding PWDs were increasingly participating in decision-making in the various communities.

Mr Awale cited for example that PWDs were now vigorously advocating for the re-opening of the Regional Rehabilitation Centre in Bolgatanga which served as a training centre for them, but has been closed down for more than half a decade now. He further indicated that PWDs in the region were now advocating and demanding duty bearers to ensure that structures that were not disability friendly were redesigned to specification to ensure that PWDs could access them without difficulties. He cited an instance where the group condemned structures of the Regional Health Directorate, the Bolgatanga Municipal assembly, the Regional Police Command, some schools and public structures because they were not PWD friendly.

He noted that his outfit had sensitized thirty Stakeholders including NGOs, Municipal and Metropolitan Assemblies (MMDAs), Parent Teacher Association (PTAs,) Traditional Leaders from two districts on inclusive development, disability rights and the provisions of the disability act.

Besides, the organization had conducted accessibility audit of relevant structures in two districts for advocacy purposes and organized two route matches, flash-mops and interface with the media to petition duty bearers on the PWD Act, and discussed inadequate funding for disability issues.