The government will continue to encourage and partner with private sector organizations in seeking to meet the needs of the disabled and disadvantaged to ensure greater social inclusion.
“I firmly believe that with the collective support of social and economic actors, the active participation of the various representative associations gathered here, we will collectively achieve more for this vulnerable group,” Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia said on Saturday. June 25, 2022 in Accra.
Dr. Bawumia pledged at a fundraising dinner hosted by the Charismatic Evangelistic Ministry (CEM) for the establishment of the CEM Ability Village, a philanthropic program intended to provide a model for supporting people with disabilities (PWD) through access to three main areas: Health and social insurance; education and training; and Improvement of economic activities.
According to church officials, CEM Ability Village will have an Empowerment Center to provide Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and other skills to address the employment challenges of people with disabilities; a state-of-the-art hospital to serve the specific needs of people with disabilities; a technology center to focus on software development and hardware assembly and repair.
It will also have an Advocacy, Advice, Guidance and Information service; assisted housing and affordable housing; and support for PWD to enter agriculture.
“As a government, we will continue to tackle the various challenges of people with disabilities head-on. We must all get down to work and work to remove all the obstacles that our brothers and sisters face. Let’s take advantage of our human nature and give our resources to lift them up.
“In fact, our gathering at this fundraising event is a very important step as CEM Ability Village is showing the way that we don’t have to wait for the Government to do everything. This charity has stepped forward by starting this empowerment center for people with disabilities.
“So we are witnessing a good example of shared responsibility and this requires our overwhelming support as a government, organizations and individuals. We need to support this initiative led by the private and social sector, which is a perfect example of forging a partnership with the government to address the critical issues facing this vulnerable group to create more inclusive communities.”
Making an impassioned call on individuals, corporate institutions, and everyone concerned about the well-being of people with disabilities to support the CEM Ability Village and other initiatives designed to improve their lives, Dr. Bawumia said now is the time to combine the walk with the conversation.
“I believe that supporting CEM Ability Village is our civic and moral responsibility. Let’s all rise to the occasion. Every life matters and we must not leave anyone behind,” she emphasized.