By Donstance Koroma
Many well minded Sierra Leoneans continues to commend Children’s Forum Network (CFN), for grabbling such an opportunity to put together a Children’s Manifesto for the upcoming June 24 general elections.
The Children’s Manifesto demands for the next five years are real issues affecting children across the country.
The move by the child friendly organisation indicated that they are passionate about the concerns of children, especially those in hard-to-reach communities.
Unlike Disabled Person Organizations (DPOs), since the enactment of the Persons with Disability Act of 2013, Disabled Person Organizations are yet to galvanize themselves in ensuring that government fully implement the Act.
With the increase of Disabled Person Organizations (DPOs) across the country sound encouraging of recent, yet their numerical strength can’t produce the policy change in the areas of access for physically challenged persons.
By the look of things, majority, if not all of government buildings cut across the country are not disabled friendly and as a result makes mobility of physically challenged persons very difficult.
Taking into consideration the steady increase of physically challenged pupils in schools in Sierra Leone, the unfriend nature of the school structures and its facilities pose a serious threat to the pupil chances of continuity.
Ten years down the line, seventy percent of the provisions in the Act remain untouched.
Regardless of the said fact, The Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues (SLUDI), remain invisible in ensuring that governments fully implement the Act, thereby restoring the dignity of persons with disability holistically.
Disability advocates and loyalists across the country were yearning to see Persons with Disability stand up and demand for what should belong to them without any fear or favour.
By the look of things, politics has cleverly entered the disability family in Sierra Leone, hence can’t reason as a unit.
With lot to achieve in the Persons with Disability Act, when will the Sierra Leone Union on Disability Issues (SLUDI) borrow a leaf from the Children Forum Network, putting together Sierra Leone’s Disability Manifesto that will spelt out persons with disability demands to government going forward.
Disabled Person Organizations, please emulate good examples.
