Activist Calls for Greater Education Access to PWDs to Overcome their Vulnerabilities

By Praise Chinecherem

Chairman of Anambra State Disability Rights Commission, (DRC) Chuks Ezewuzie has stressed the need to give quality education to persons with disability as a way of enhancing their ability and potential to live above poverty and economic vulnerabilities.

Ezewuzie made the call in response to a question on the implementation of the state Disability Rights Law, during an advocacy visit by members of Community of Practice, (CoP) of ProjectTrust, implemented by Connected Development, CODE, with support from MacArthur Foundation in Anambra State.

The DRC Chairman, who hosted the meeting virtually, expressed satisfaction for the visit which coincided with the 2024 commemoration of the International Day for Persons with Disability (IDPD).

He appealed for the establishment of Disability Counselling Centres across all communities of the state to advise persons with disability, their parents and teachers on the need to educate them like every other child.

“The centre will equip them with the knowledge to inspire them to go to school, teaching the PWDs not to be ashamed of themselves as disability is not synonymous with economic vulnerabilities. Especially now that the governor is focusing on education, PWDs should not be left behind.

“This requires the physical presence of the commission and constant communication with traditional rulers, presidents-general, and others to bring awareness down to the people, who still think that there is no future or hope for persons with disability.

“When I got blind as a child, they thought there was no hope for me, but I hope we have proved them wrong. This is the message we want to take the rural areas. So, I am appealing to anybody that can help us to please do,” he pleaded.

The DRC Chairman expressed happiness that Anambra is a shining light in issues of disability in the southeast region having been the first to enact the disability rights law even before the Federal Government. “We are very thankful to RoLAC JONAPWD, and other organisations which worked together to have the law, especially RoLAC which has helped the Commission to actualize many of the provisions of it. It actualized the section 9 which establishes a legal department to help the PWDs whose rights are infringed upon.

“This year, for the first time, a line-item was created for the Commission in the state budget. In 2025, the state government set out a budget line item for the implementation, monitoring and enforcement of this law. So, implementation is on but I cannot tell you that we are already completely implementing the law.

Ezewuzie observed with dismay that there are still concerns around inclusion for PWDs in the areas of health, education and WASH, he called for disability services in all nooks and crannies of the state.

Earlier, the State Support Officer, ProjectTrust, Ujunwa Ananwude, explained that the visit is to ascertain the extent of implementation of the state Disability Rights Law. In ProjectTrust, we focus on three sectors – health, education and WASH. Also of interest to us is the accessibility and affordability of services in those sectors for women, children and persons with disability.

“How inclusive is education in the state for PWDs? Are there still schools out there where they are not accepted just for their disabilities? What is the level of knowledge and awareness among the citizens about the disability rights law and its provisions? Many people believe that most often, government talks but does not do”.

One of the CoP members, Kenechukwu Ejim, stressed the need for greater awareness and sensitization of the populace on disability matters. “The commission needs to do more in this regard. There is need to collaborate with other MDAs and NGOs to saturate the media space with disability information.

“PWDs tend to get encouraged when a fellow PWD addresses them on these issues and the need to rise above their physical disability,” she said.