More than 100 Persons With Disabilities (PWD) have benefitted from wheelchairs courtesy of the Kisii County Government in collaboration with Walkabout Foundation.
The selected differently abled beneficiaries drawn from all the nine sub counties included women, children with cerebral palsy and men.
In his speech read by the Kisi County Assembly Speaker Dr. Philip Nyanumba Kisii County Governor Simba Arati thanked the foundation for partnering with the county to ensure that the beneficiaries are supported so that they can lead better lives.
“To identify the beneficiaries, as County Government, through the Department of Administration and health practitioners, we undertook an assessment of the PWDs in all the nine sub-counties, with focus on the persons with mobility challenges,” said Arati
The Governor said following the assessment, there is need for a comprehensive community-based household identification and assessment targeting PWDs in the county to bring on board the bedridden cases who aren’t able to access medical and rehabilitation services due to high poverty levels in some affected households.
“These are cases where caregivers are forced to carry them to health facilities and there is need for supportive intervention,” he regretted.
Arati said his administration is considering employment opportunities and is set to introduce aspects of inclusion, like sports activities for PWDs such as sitting Volleyball and para-athletics alongside giving them equitable opportunities in accessing county tenders.
“The County Government of Kisii, aware and willing to work with and promote the welfare of disabled persons, is ready to bring in partners such as the WalkAbout Foundation, to help alleviate the suffering faced by persons with mobility challenges and other forms of disability,” he said.
The governor pointed out that there is a need for a multi sectoral approach in disability services provision to ensure total identification, registration of all PWDs to enable dignified intervention by government agencies and non-state actors.
He expressed the commitment by the County Government to ensure that the interests of all persons living with disabilities are well catered for and called for continued cooperation by stakeholders.
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