Integrating Persons With Disabilities For an Emerging Cameroon- Fembe Hilda

The misconception of persons living with disabilities has brought about a lot of arguments about whether it is a blessing or a curse. It is at this point, one will say 80% of disability is man-made and 20% has been attributed to witchcraft. It is with this regard we say; disability is not the inability for an inclusive society as well as an emerging nation. Below are some of the reasons why disability can be reduced if these aspects are carefully taken into consideration. These include, but are not limited to;

• Lack of ANC during pregnancy
• Know what you eat during pregnancy
• Stop drinking alcohol during pregnancy (cleft palate)
• Buying of medication along the street during pregnancy without doctor’s recommendation
• Assault from husbands during pregnancy (beating and hard work)
• Incompetent nurses and at times negligence during child birth result to a lot of disabilities. This then bring us to the question; Is nursing now an inborn passion or a profession for income generating activities? Disability is not a curse because it can be avoided and societal perception being eradicated. Please help us to choose passion and not money over lives.
• Accident (Drivers need to be orientated and also have seminar workshops and trainings organized by the transport office for people’s safety. Monitoring and evaluation needs to be implemented every month).

Politically, the convention of the rights of persons living with disabilities states clearly that, they have the right to vote and be voted. Looking at the society we find ourselves, persons living with disabilities are not given equal opportunities as well as non-disabled persons. It’s a right to be involved in electoral activities, which will act as a motivational factor for others. One is tempted to say, there is bias and unfair judgment to persons living with disabilities. People judge their disabilities without looking at their abilities and the development they can bring in terms of politics to make it interesting. How many persons living with disabilities are engaged in politics? Are they not qualified? What then is their right as citizens as well as their contributions towards the development of society? Elections Cameroon (ELECAM) needs to recruit focal persons to get into communities to carry out a survey on how many persons living with disabilities are there, their various disabilities, ages, and activities. They can provide electronic machines that can reach out to persons living with disabilities in their homes, as well as produce voters’ cards as motivation for voting during elections. The polling stations should be accessible for persons living with disabilities.

Persons living with disabilities ought to know their rights as citizens. They need to come up with a powerful entity as well as be able to overcome some of the challenges they are faced with such as; societal perception, inadequate education, digital know-how, lack of self-empowerment, and low self-esteem. On the contrary, why can’t they create a party to run their own affairs, if they think they do not accept them for who they are in order to change the mindsets of society.

From a socio-economic dimension, some persons living with disabilities have proven to be more performant in society. An example; is Ako Henry Eta, a gospel artist, entrepreneur, and vice president of Social Change and Establishment Center for Youths and Disabled Person (SCECYDPs) and a disability advocate, who has championed several projects in the South West Region. However, Ako has breached the gap between a non-disabled and a disabled in the domain of relationship. They have the right to love and be loved, own property, and socialize.

There is a need for organizing mega sporting events for persons living with disabilities, as well as ensuring the provision of scholarships and professional programs for persons living with disabilities. Furthermore, persons living with disabilities must create a task force to render services to communities and the society they find themselves. This will go a long way to eradicate the notion of persons living with disabilities as beggars and tie to the saying that, ‘disability is not inability.

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Modika Fembe Hilda is the Co-Founder SCECYDPs, Disability advocate, UNESCO and Global Peace Chain Ambassador, Director of Young Creative Forum( Cameroon), Chairperson of Human Rights International Adversary Council( Cameroon), and WAOW youths Ambassador.