77 Persons with Disability in the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipality have been disbursed with employable equipment worth Ghc 37,740.5.
Notable among the equipments are; Twenty-four (24) Wheelchairs, Three (3) Bicycles, Three (3) cocoa Spraying Machine (motor blow), Nine chest Fridges (9), One (1) Knitting Machine, One (1) industrial Machine, Three (3) Sewing Machines and Twenty (20) White Cairns.
Addressing the ceremony, the Municipal Chief Executive of the Prestea Huni-Valley Municipal Assembly, Mr Mozart Kwaku Owuh stressed that since disability is not inability, most of the Persons with Disability in the Municipality have the ability to do something in order to earn the living, in view of this, the assembly in collaboration with the Member of Parliament for the Prestea Huni-Valley Constituency also decided to help them to achieve their aim.
He added that all the PWDs were registered and asked to request anything that will improve upon their livelihood. He stated that 635 out of 159,304 people in the Municipality were people with a disability according to the 2010 Population and Housing Census, meaning 4 out of 100 people were persons with a disability he emphasized.
Notwithstanding, the Assembly is planning of opening a Vocational Skill Training Centre for Persons with Disability to equip them with good skills training which can help improve their standard of living.
Mr Owuh also said the Assembly is putting measures in place such that, next disbursement will come along with materials and start-up capital. According to the MCE, the Assembly noted that some of the PWDs do not use the support for its intended purpose. Hence giving them a start-up capital in addition to the items will help them acquire basic things needed to supplement what they were already given. Mozart Kwaku Owuh advised them to desist from such character but rather use the equipment for the purpose meant for and also take very good care of the equipment in order to prolong its life span.
On behalf of the PWD’s, the Chairman of the Persons with Disability, Patrick Obeng said, the Assembly has done well by supporting them with such equipment which they can work with to cater for themselves and their family.
He also said, most of the time the Assembly relief the Persons with Disability with lots of assistance but such support does not normally come in the public domain, Mr Patrick Obeng, however, appealed to the media to most of time highlight the good work done by the Assembly. He pleaded with beneficiaries to desist from selling the items given them. He added that anyone who sells his /hers will be prosecuted together with the buyer.
In an exclusive interview with Jacob Asare, a beneficiary who received a Knitting Machine thanked the assembly for such livelihood. “The Netting Machine is going to help me a lot since I am a tailor,” he said.
He, however, called the almighty God to shower his blessing on the entire staff and also replenish wherever the money comes from.
At the end of the programme, a sum of Eleven Thousand Two Hundred Ghana Cedis ( Ghc 11,200) was shared among 14 PWDs who needed financial support out of which Eight 8 we’re males and the remaining six were females.
Source: Matilda Ansah & Daniel O. Gyabeng