People Living with Disability (PWDs) have been urged to demonstrate their gratitude and appreciation for the thriving Inua Jamii program by terminating the habit of begging on the streets.
The Chairman of PWDs in Nakuru County Stephen Ogutu said the monthly stipend was meant to ensure that they all lived in dignity and avoided extending a bowl to passers-by on roadsides because they were entitled to quality life just like everybody else.
Ogutu said they have started a mentorship program for young children who were differently enabled to ensure that they acquired a positive attitude from a young age to avoid dependability, which makes them vulnerable to all sorts of abuses. He was speaking today during a workshop at a Nakuru hotel.
“The money which the government gives us was a clear message that they are aware of our special needs and every child should attend school and create a bright future for themselves,” he said.
However, he regretted that there were still PWDs who have refused to stop the old-fashioned mind-set of seeking sympathy from people and yet the current slogan by the UN of being ‘differently enabled’ was a strong message that there wasn’t anything they could not do or achieve in life.
He urged parents not to inculcate the negative mid-set in their children by treating them differently from their able-bodied siblings because it made them to assume that society would also grant them favours, which was far from the truth.
He added that they want the children to appreciate from a young age that whichever profession they chose, they must work hard just like anybody else otherwise their wishes could come to naught.
By Veronica Bosibori
