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I had cheekily invited myself along to the Inclusion Ghana meeting on Saturday morning. This was introduced to me as a parents' self-help group for parents of children with learning disabilities (known as 'intellectual disabilities' in Ghana). The group meet under the shade of a large tree by the community centre in town once a month (usually the Saturday following our SNAP meeting, unless, like this month, it was postponed due a clash with market day).
They are part of a wider network of Inclusion Ghana groups across the country, recognised under the Ghana Federation of Disablity Organisations (GFD) and supported by Better Life and Trust Foundation (BELT) which operate across the Upper West.
I was curious to join them and see how they work and was very glad I did. I saw such fire and spirit amongst these committed members, who represented about a fifth of their total membership in Lawra. There were a lot of familiar faces and regulars from ATE's monthly Special Needs Awareness Programme (SNAP) meetings and I was warmly welcomed.
Peace, one of our SNAP Committee members, is the Inclusion Ghana chairperson for Lawra District. She spoke passionately about gaining recognition for the group which is advocating for the rights of children with learning disabilities, which are marginalised even within the disabled rights group community. She used the proverb about how a broom has many strands, when you pluck one you can easily snap it, but by coming together they are stronger and able to fight for all their children.
There was one topic in particular which I knew would be on the agenda; the Common Fund - a pot of funding made available to each District Assembly by the Government of Ghana. Two percent of it is ring-fenced solely for disabled people. Despite clear guidelines for allocation, the majority of those in Lawra who have registered their disabled children for this funding do not receive it and the group were debating how to lobby and add their voice to the district-level committee which allocates it. (See p.11-12 of the DACF Newsletter #2 on ineffective implementation of the scheme)
It was fantastic to see this forum of parents and guardians, committed, organised, fighting for the rights of their disabled children, working to reduce stigma, advocating for their needs, for equality, and working out how to go about getting it.
Before the Inclusion Ghana meeting got underway, I realised there was another meeting taking place in the community centre itself for the Blind Association. I was introduced to the leader, Nicholas Bayour, by Celina, a member of SNAP whom I had visited on a home visit just a few days earlier.
Nicholas, an educated man with a head encircled with white hair, says that there are over 400 members of the Blind Association in Lawra. Even as I am heading home, I see more people, canes in hand, gradually making their way to their bi-monthly gathering.
Later in the week Nicholas called me to his office. It is a small storey building with a rickety door, which he explains is where he does his weaving. He took me and Habib to see the camp bed he had woven for a customer nearby. It's skilfully woven in brightly coloured plastic string and extremely strong, yet lightweight and comfortable. Its amazing!
Nicholas has put in an application for ATE's small business development programme (BizATE) and hopes to also take on apprentices from the Blind Association to be able to share his weaving skills and generate income.
For more information about ATE's small business development programme (BizATE): http://ateghana.org/small-business-development/.
For more information about ATE's Special Needs Awareness Programme (SNAP): http://ateghana.org/s-n-a-p/
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