WLCI launches appeal for funds for disabled

Accra, Nov 16, GNA - The World Liberation Church International on Sunday launched a three-week fund raising programme to collect 20 million cedis to support the Disabled especially the Ghana Federation for the Physically Challenged.

Speaking at a service at the Victory Temple at Darkuman in Accra at the weekend, the leader and Founder of the Church, the Reverend Jonas Jones, said the amount that would be raised during the period would be used as seed money to assist the disabled and other vulnerable people in the society.

He stressed the commitment of the Church to support the Physical Challenged Rehabilitation Centres in the country especially the one at Biriwa in the Central Region to make more room for more mendicants Disabled to be trained in vocational skills.

Rev Jones called on people with disabled people relatives not to hide and neglect them but to send them for registration with the Department of Social Welfare for training to enable them to be self-supporting instead of begging for alms.

He called on Churches and other religious bodies not to concentrate their activities only on the able-bodied since the disabled are also part of the society and must be catered for.

Touching on the forthcoming general elections in December 2004, Rev Jones called on Ghanaians not to be afraid of the "war drums and other negative things that we hear" saying, "All things work well for those who love God".

Ghana shall not see war before, during and after the elections, he said and called on the political parties to know that elections and personalities shall come and go but the power of God shall stay forever, Rev Jones said adding that, the Lord has taken the country this far and would always protect the nation.

He called on Ghanaians especially Christians to continue praying for God's protection and guidance for the nation and urged the leaders of the political parties to be humble enough to accept the verdict of the people expressed in a free and fair polls to avoid plunging the country into turmoil.

"If our political leaders actually love Ghana they should combine forces to move the country forward and not just scramble to be in the Castle themselves," he said.

Mr Prince Ocansey, Senior Co-ordinator of the Ghana Federation for the Physically Challenged thanked the Church for the initiative to assist disabled, saying disability did not mean inability.

He said that even though the Department of Social Welfare was helping the disabled it could not care for them all alone and appealed to the society especially Churches for support to enable them to stop soliciting for alms and to learn trades and vocations.

"Train them to fish instead of giving them fish" and they would never be hungry, he added.

Mr Ocansey said 76 members of the Association had been sponsored for training in various skills while eight completed University this year.

Rev Jones later presented a pair of clutches to Mr Ocansey to replace his broken ones after the service.