….. Urges Members To Adhere Strictly To Preventive Measures Against Virus
Persons Living with Disabilities (PWDs) in Anambra State have made a clarion call to the State Government and philanthropists to remember its members while distributing palliatives and covid-19 relief items to residents in the State.
Organising Secretary of the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities (JONAPWD) in the State, Gloria Mary Nwugo who spoke as a guest on Good Morning Anambra show anchored by Nonye Nwokoye on Anambra Broadcasting Service (ABS), said much as the State Government has done well in that regard, there were still a lot of PWDs yet to benefit.
“Like we have said before, appreciating our Governor cannot be overemphasized. Our Governor has done much. We have received palliatives from our Governor. Our Governor gave 100 10kg bag of rice to Disability community at the State level but the problem we are having here is that our members abounds.
“We are many and government alone cannot do that and some of the populace on sharing or dividing the palliatives on this era do not remember our members.
“So this the problem we are having and that’s why we are like appealing to everybody, the philanthropists, the churches and everybody, infact the general public on this issue. Nothing is too much and nothing is too small in order to reach out to our members because Governor has done his own. Individuals equally need to do theirs in other to get to where we are going,” said.
Nwugo, who is also a former Miss Wheelchair and a member of the Information and Communication Sub-Committee on Covid-19 Response Team, described the State Governor, Willie Obiano as a disability friendly governor, adding that the State was the first in Nigeria to pass the Disability Rights Bill into law in 2018.
She said the Disability Committee on Covid-19 inaugurated by Obiano has already hit the ground running and has continued to work round the clock to protect the interests of all PWDs in the State.
“Those in various sub-committees, we have been running up and down to make sure that there is something on their table.
“For example, the Information and Communication Committee, which I am a part of, that is the reason why we are here today. You know if not for any other thing to enlighten our members on the issue or rather the reality of this Covid-19. Because if this committee have not been inaugurated, maybe by today we wouldn’t have this opportunity that we have today to be here. So it part of what we are doing. So we are here today to enlighten our people on the reality of Covid-19.
“Other committees like Palliatives and Welfare Committee, that committee has done greatly in the sense that they have gone through many disability communities to find out about our members, to get the list of names of our members that need to be assisted at this Covid-19 era.
“As I speak to you now, we have about 1,500 members in Disability communities that needed to be assisted. We get phone calls every day from our members that they need assistance from us. So, that is the work of this Palliatives committee and they also make sure that if there’s any palliative being presented or being gotten from anybody, they will make sure that it gets to Disability community at the grassroots,” Nwugo said.
Corroborating her, Victoria Okonkwo, a member of the Contact and Mobilization Sub-Committee, appealed to well-meaning residents in Anambra to support the PWDs in their various communities and shun the temptation to discriminate against them.
“I’m appealing to the general public, at this moment they should remember Persons living with Disabilities. At times, you go to various communities, you see people sharing palliatives but they do not remember persons living with disabilities.
“So I’m appealing to the general public, the philanthropists to please know that we have persons like this in our state, in our communities and they should also try to render assistance in one way or the other. This is not a time to discriminate them but a time to carry us along,” she said.
Okonkwo added that efforts are ongoing to collate all PWDs in the State so as to ensure that no one is left out.
Nothing that it was a daunting task, she said the Committee was liasing with Director Generals in the State to help with a comprehensive list of all PWDs.
“The Fund Raising Committee is also doing their best trying to get some people that can assist in one way or the other. We have also tried to reach some of our members that are in need by giving them some money and palliatives in order to assist them,” she said.
Noting that till date no PWD in the State has contracted Covid-19, Nwugo, however urged PWDs in the State to continue to adhere to regulations and guidelines recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to prevent the spread of the virus.
“One of these rules is regular washing of our hands with soap and in running water. The use of hand sanitizers. Of course, the use of our face mask cannot be over emphasized and again maintaining of social distancing.
“The same thing is applicable to the Deaf and Dumb. The must make sure that the person interpreting for them does not come close to them. They must maintain that social distancing and make sure that they don’t tap them or touch them while they are interpreting. Then for the visually impaired, they will also make sure that the number of people that is assisting on a daily basis is restricted to one or two persons and those people must surely put on their face masks and again use hand sanitizers and hand gloves in order to feel save,” she urged.
