While commemorating the International Day of Persons with Disabilities on 3rd December, the chairperson of the disabled community in Maridi State has called on authorities to provide vocational training services for persons with disabilities to promote self-reliance.

Given Gadu Mula was speaking at the celebrations under the theme ‘Promoting the participation of persons with disabilities and their leadership: taking action on the 2030 Development Agenda’ organized by the Sudan Evangelical Mission.

“Lack of skills due to no vocation training, mobility aids like tricycles and other things like crutches, employment problems, and humanitarian assistance, these are the challenges that face the persons with disabilities here,” he said.

Gadu emphasized that if provided with an enabling environment the persons with disabilities can not only be able to cater to their own needs but also contribute positively to society.

Responding to the lack of training for persons with disability, Maridi community-based rehabilitation officer Emmanuel Luda said, “the teachers we train to help the persons with disabilities in some of the schools are sometimes transferred to other schools that neither we nor the students can access. This makes learning difficult and even discourages parents from sending their children to school.”

For his part, Maridi County health director Mr. Asiki Fesito appealed to non-governmental organizations to support the state ministry of health in providing health services for disabled persons in the county.