by HE Dame Cécile La Grenade, GCMG, OBE
3 December 2021: International day for Persons with Disabilities.
I bring you warm and special greetings as I join with the Grenada National Council of the Disabled and indeed all persons and organisations around the world in celebration of this special day, 3 December one that seeks to honour and champion the rights of persons with disabilities.
This important day affords me the opportunity to highlight the needs and indeed the contribution that persons with disabilities in our tri-island state can make to our society.
For our country to achieve its full potential, we must, as a nation, tap into the God-given talent of every individual, including persons with disabilities. Promoting equal access to education, training and employment ensure the inclusive development and integration of disabled persons into our society.
In Grenada today, persons with disabilities, despite the challenges faced, are getting on with their lives and are making a contribution to our society. Indeed, some are accomplishing as much as or even more than able-bodied members of our society. Jamal Philip, who is blind, owns and operates an online radio station. Kimani La Touche, who is physically disabled, became a certified electrician and owns and operates his own business. Others have nurtured and cared for their children, thus allowing them to become productive and successful citizens. Your efforts and resolve are exemplary and commendable, and our society needs to be more sensitive and attuned to your special needs.
Mutual respect and cooperation must be extended to persons with disabilities if we are to be truly a fair and open society. No one should care about your differences, and no one should be focused on anyone’s disability. The contribution that can be made by disabled persons should be recognised, and their disability should not be an impediment to making a meaningful contribution in any area. Persons should not be overlooked for who they are and what they CANNOT do, but cherished for who they are and what they CAN do. A disability is not an inability.
Appropriate vocational opportunities and access to services must be provided to our citizens with disabilities. I am pleased to report that the Grenada National Council for the Disabled is making every effort to ensure that training for disabled persons is given priority. Recently, the Skills for Youth Employment in the Caribbean programme, trained a number of our students with disabilities. The training included the rearing of rabbits thereby enabling those trained to earn a decent living. This was a first for the Council and Council members must be lauded for their efforts to ensure that individuals with various disabilities are fully integrated into our society. Admittedly, however, much remains to be done.
The spirit of inclusiveness must be kept alive in our country. We should be empathetic to the needs of persons with disabilities and assist and promote them in any way we can, remembering that a disability may be visible or invisible.
On this day, 3 December, which has been set aside to heighten awareness of the needs of persons with disabilities, I take this opportunity to thank the Directors and the Management of the Council for the Disabled for their hard work, dedication, and outstanding leadership. To cite just a few examples, you have succeeded in obtaining 2 containers filled with assistive devices for individuals with disabilities, and for the past four years, have provided Christmas gifts to the students attending the schools for special education throughout our nation, in collaboration with the Toy Project of England. Your concerted efforts to work with and protect the rights of the disabled must be applauded, as you forge ahead with your work to ensure that individuals with disabilities in our country are given equal access to opportunities that will enable them to achieve their full potential.
It is my hope that Grenada can become a leading light for persons with disabilities not only within the region but internationally. I urge us all to strengthen our collective efforts in removing the residual legal, social and economic inequities which still exist today so that we can enable persons with disabilities to become equally engaged, productive members of our society.
I take this opportunity to wish everyone, particularly individuals with disabilities, a joyous Christmas Season, and a New Year filled with hope, love, and light. I thank you.
