Naga society ‘insensitive to needs and rights of PwDs’
Oragnisers and others during the awareness programme on Rights of Persons with Disabilities conducted at ADC conference hall, Niuland on March 13. (Photo Courtesy: NSDF)
Niuland, March 13 (MExN): An awareness programme on Rights of Persons with Disabilities was conducted at ADC conference hall, Niuland on March 13 by Nagaland State Disability Forum (NSDF) in collaboration with office of the ADC, Niuland and Prodigals’ Home Dimapur.
“Disability, in the context of Nagaland, has been considered a curse for very long,” lamented Maong Jamir, Asst. Director of Prodigals’ Home speaking on “Scenario of Disability in Nagaland.” Jamir shared how Prodigals’ Home started working with Persons with Disability (PwD) since 2006 whence society in general was ignorant and insensitive to the needs and rights of the PwDs.
Working in an entirely new field was very challenging as most parents/guardians were not ready to meet their disabled child/ward owing to many societal factor, and stigma in particular. He opined that the situation, presently, has improved to some extent with comparatively more awareness and facilities for the PwDs; nevertheless there is so much to be done for the education, employment, health, social security, rehabilitation and accessibility of PwDs in Nagaland.
He urged the Churches in particular to invest more resources for the PwDs while also appealing the Government and various stakeholders to work together for an enabling environment for the PwDs.
303 PwDs indentified in 25 villages under Niuland Block
Avito Yeptho, General Secretary, Federation of Niuland Block Disable People Organization briefly shared about Status of Disability in Niuland.
Presently, there are 303 PwDs indentified in 25 villages under Niuland Block and that there will be more if the reach is extended to other villages, Avito stated. He expressed pride that the Federation was able to mobilize resources and commemorate World Disability Day 2019 at Niuland through help from various quarters. He said that their Federation, formed on May 3, 2019 was still a fledgling and needed as much support from the Government, Churches, NGOs and Community leaders.
The Federation, he said, is comprised of the Village Disable People Organizations formed by Prodigals’ Home through a project called “Community Based Rehabilitation” supported by CBR Forum, Bangalore.
PwDs and Accessibility
Kezhaleto Zecho, President of NSDF presented a gist about the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016. He highlighted about the different provisions for the PwDs with regard to Employment (4%) in Government sectors, reservation of 5% in poverty alleviation schemes, right to inclusive education, and right to health and rehabilitation.
He particularly stressed on the right to “Accessibility” for PwDs, for which the Government and the various stakeholders have a major role to play.
Zecho stated that if public places are made easily accessible than more PwDs would come out of their homes and become more visible, which unfortunately, is not the case at present. Stressing on the same topic, he said that churches, public places such as meeting halls, market places, streets, etc should be made as much accessible as possible for the PwDs. He urged the church to involve the PwDs in the church programs as much as possible and not only remember them on World Disability Day or on every 3rd Sunday of November set aside as special Sunday for PwDs by NBCC.
He concluded by thanking the present State Commissioner for Persons with Disability for being very knowledgeable about issues of PwDs and also for being very approachable.
He urged the gathering, particularly the PwDs and their guardians to approach the Commissioner directly for any genuine issues related to PwDs or Disability through her official email id or office phone number which he would be sharing to them. He also highlighted about NSDF earlier and said that since its formation in 2014, it has been advocating for the rights of the PwDs across the State of Nagaland.
Yanthungbemo, EAC, Niuland, speaking on behalf of the ADC Niuland welcomed the participants comprised of Government officials, GBs. PwDs, guardians of PwDs, Village leaders, Church representatives, NGO workers and VDPO members. The vote of thanks was pronounced by Vikengunu Fatima Kera, Treasurer, NSDF. The program was chaired by Ashe Kiba, General Secretary, NSDF.
