The District Officer for the National Council on Persons with Disability (NCPD) in Ejisu Municipal, Mr. Eric Kwabena Bediako, has shared a worrying account of the stigma persons with disabilities face daily in Ghana.
Speaking in an emotional interview on Okese 106.5 FM with Worshippa, Mr. Bediako revealed that he himself became a person with disability at the tender age of 9 through a tragic accident.
He said many people think persons with disabilities wished to be in that condition, but that is never the case.
“Nobody wishes to be living with disabilities. People become disabled through accidents and conditions beyond their control. I became a person with disability at age 9 through an accident,” he narrated on the show.
Mr. Bediako lamented that stigma against PWDs in communities, workplaces and even on the streets is very worrying and heartbreaking.
He recounted moments where persons with disabilities are mocked, isolated, and seen as outcasts, a situation he says is killing the spirit of many talented PWDs.
He therefore made a passionate appeal to the general public to desist from stigmatizing persons with disabilities and see them as one people.
“We are one people. Stop the stigma. Show us love, give us opportunity, include us. We can also contribute to the development of this country,” he pleaded.
He urged families, churches, schools and employers in Ejisu and beyond to support and not discriminate against PWDs.
