Nana Ama and Okyeame Kwame helping a PWD display his wares
Three prominent personalities in Ghana’s creative art industry have thrown their weight behind the Henry Djaba Foundation to organise an ‘Ability Fair’ that would provide an avenue for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) to showcase their talents.
The personalities who included Bice Osei Kuffour alias Obuor, Okyeame Kwame and Nana Ama McBrown, joined the Executive Director of the foundation, Otiko Afisa Djaba in Accra on Monday to launch the event which is slated for July 30, 2021.
The two days event which will take place at the Mikkado Conference Centre in Accra will feature the exhibition of products, services, skills and performances from persons with special needs, physically challenged persons, and visually impaired individuals among other vulnerable groups.
With support from the UNFPA, the event is designed to highlight the competencies of PWDs who are often marginalised and discriminated against by some members of the Ghanaian society.
In her remarks, Ms. Djaba said that the COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on PWDs as it has made it difficult for them to survive economically.
Aside the challenges posed by the pandemic, PWDs on a daily basis, she said, faced discrimination, adding that “people stare at them, treat them badly, make fun of them. And some even refuse to purchase their goods because of their disability.”
She, therefore, called for support of PWDs as Ghana seeks to promote inclusion in growing the nation.
Renowned actress, Nana Ama McBrown, expressed empathy for PWDs by retorting that her near-death experience has made it difficult for her to effectively use her right hand when she was involved in an accident in 2013.
“We should know that we are all equal and anybody can suffer from an accident at any time. There were times I couldn’t sleep well and I dared not travel abroad in winter,” she said.
Okyeame Kwame, for his part, said that living with a PWD has given him more insight on the need for public discourse on how to make the lives of such vulnerable groups better.
Also present at the launch was the Board Chairman of the Microfinance and Small Loans Centre (MASLOC), Seth Adjei Baah, who pledged the support of his outfit to provide financial support to PWDs.
By Issah Mohammed