By DisabilityNewsGH
The Ada East branch of the Ghana Federation of Disability Organisations (GFD) has slammed the Centre for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana) and the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), for leaving the disability community out of a youth forum held at Kasseh-Ada, in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.
The federation said it was disappointed that the two organisations which were supposed to know better about the need to include marginalised groups in community development, rather excluded them from the event.
On Thursday, July 7, 2022, CDD-Ghana and NCCE held a youth forum at the Presbyterian Church hall at Kasseh, on inclusion and participation in local governance.
The event, “USAID Electoral support project-Youth participation in Local Governance, Youth speak series II”, was to educate the youths in the area on the responsibilities of their local Assembly, those of their Assembly Members and the need for them to be interested and involved in the governance of their local areas, as well as the need to demand accountability from their leaders.
They were also taught how to prepare for the job market, among other things. But the youths with disabilities were not invited.
The Ada East District President of GFD, Mr Theophilus Ayim who got to know about the programme on Facebook told DisabilityNewsGH.com that, he was surprised that a programme on inclusion would exclude them, the much marginalised in society.
He pointed out that, “For the organizers to notice that the youth in general are marginalised and there was, therefore, the need for the programme means that youths with disabilities are suffering double marginalisation”.
He explained that, “they are marginalised because of their disabilities in addition to being young people”.
In his opinion, the youths with disabilities should have been the focus of the programme.
Mr Ayim also complained that, in a few cases when organisations made the attempt to make programmes inclusive, they invited people from only one disability group, when there were different forms of disability.
He echoed the need for persons with disabilities to be involved in every activity of society, stressing that, they also had roles to play in achieving community development.
When contacted by DisabilityNewsGH, the District Director of NCCE, Mr Solomon Dzidzor Mensah admitted that they erred in excluding persons with disabilities from the event, adding that it was an oversight on the part of his subordinate officers.
He apologised to the disability community and promised that it would not happen again.
SOURCE: DisabilityNewsGH.com