By DisabilityNewsGH
The Executive Director of Centre for Employment of Persons with Disabilities (CEPD), Mr. Alexander Kojo Tetteh, is appealing for support to construct an accessible ramp at Liberty Avenue 1 primary school; a state owned primary school at Adabraka in Accra.
The ramp, if constructed, will make movement easy for a boy with disability in the school.
On Wednesday, March 30, 2022, CEPD in partnership with Free Wheelchair Mission, USA, donated a wheelchair to a 9-year-old pupil of the school, Kelvin Kusi.
The wheelchair is expected to enhance mobility and provide comfort for Kelvin, who was hitherto using calipers and crutches, but the school building is not accessible.
There is no ramp and so the only way Kelvin can climb the high veranda of the building is to be carried together with the wheelchair over the steps.
Mr. Tetteh says, such things hurt the dignity of persons with disabilities, adding that the purpose for the donation of the wheelchair to the boy cannot be achieved without a ramp.
He is, therefore, calling on benevolent institutions and individuals to come on board to build a ramp at the school.
Mr. Alex Tetteh believes that provision of such a ramp will encourage many parents who have children with disabilities to enroll their wards there, since inaccessible educational infrastructure is one of the major factors impeding education of children with disabilities in Ghana.
Kelvin Kusi started schooling at Liberty Avenue primary school, crawling because he had no assistive device. The teachers of the school later voluntarily acquired calipers and crutches for him, before the donation of the wheelchair on Wednesday.
The Head teacher of the school, Mr. Wellington Akwetey Amanor, who received the donation on behalf of Kelvin and his family, acknowledges that the wheelchair will go a long way to make life easy for the boy.
He discloses that the crutches, even though were helpful, they were causing discomfort for Kelvin.
He explains that the boy often complained of pains in his arms and shoulders as a result of the handling of the crutches.
Mr. Amanor further discloses that, Kelvin’s movements were also sometimes limited and so he relied on his mates and class teacher to do a lot of things; but with the wheelchair now, he will be much more independent.
An NGO, Friends of the Needy, discovered Kelvin and his need of a wheelchair. The organisation later reached out to CEPD, which led to the donation.
Mr. Amanor also appeals for educational materials for the school.
According to him, even though the Ghana Education Service is doing its best, the school still lacks Teaching and Learning materials.
The Liberty Avenue 1 primary school was established in 1922, and helped in moulding many great citizens, including the current president of Ghana, Nana Akufo Addo.
The school serves other communities around Adabraka, including Agbogbloshie, Tudu, CMB, Adjabeng and Abuja.
SOURCE: DisabilityNewsGH