Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) in Bor town, Jonglei State are calling on the government to improve their welfare through the provision of basic services.
A member of PWDs Union in the state, Johnson Reec, told Radio Tamazuj Saturday that they feel neglected in the community as they lack access to basic healthcare and educational services.
“Education is a right for all. But as the disabled, we lack access to services like education and health. For me, I am visually impaired but to study, I had to attend classes with other normal students. This is challenging for us the blind and the deaf,” he stressed.
Reec appealed to the government and aid agencies in the country to intervene.
“With this COVID-19 and floods, l am appealing to the government and its partners to intervene. Our families alone cannot meet our needs. So, we want support,” he stressed.
An activist in Bor, Bol Deng Bol, decried the condition of those with disabilities in Bor.
“The condition of the disabled is not good especially during this difficult time of the floods and Covid-19. They want our care. So as activists, we want all of them registered and reorganized into a body to ensure effective service delivery. My message to the government and its partners, come to the help of PWDs,” he said.
For his part, Majok Kur, the acting director-general in the state gender ministry, admitted they have been unable to assist those with disabilities due to the floods and Covid-19 pandemics restrictions.
The official, however, pointed out that plans are underway to open a school for the blind.
“As schools reopen, we will also open a learning center for the blind. The center was there before but we had it closed due to the pandemics. Again, as a government, we are overstretched, and PWDs really need our care. We want support from the international ais agencies,” he said.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), disability is any form of physical or mental impairment that makes it more difficult for the person with the condition to do certain activities normally. In Jonglei, an unknown number of people live with some form of the condition.