Mass registration of people living with disability in Nyamira County commenced in earnest for them to get new disability cards, with special security identification features.
Nyamira County Disability Services Officer, Lydia Matende, working at the National Council for People Living with Disability (NCPLWD) told KNA during an interview at Magombo ward that since the start of the exercise, the turn up has been good.
This she said clearly indicates that mobilization by National Government administrators was done efficiently.
“Registration of disability persons in our County will enable our office to map out people with Autism, Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Down syndrome and intellectual disabilities”, she said.
“It will also help in strategizing for rightful intervention mechanisms and programmes to help them cope and accept to live with their disabilities,” Matende added.
“We have managed to register 893 PLWD and we are remaining with one more targeted area for outreach, but the registration will continue in our offices and at Nyamira referral hospital every Wednesday, where the mandatory medical examination is carried out before one qualifies to be approved for registration,” she elaborated.
She noted that from the registration exercise, 50% of those who turned up for registration are new applicants who have never applied for the disability card.
“About 250 out those who turned up to be registered were either autistic, had cerebral palsy, and mental health issues while majority have physical disabilities which they are struggling to cope and accept to live with,” she added.
Matende further observed that sensitization and awareness creation forums they have been doing within the county in collaboration with other partners has enabled people to start reporting family or community members with disability so that they can be assisted where possible.
“Be wary of con people who take advantage of the vulnerability and ignorance of PLWD, they easily convince them that they will register them but in turn con them some money. Always make inquiries on matters of disability from our offices to get proper direction and evade those who can to take advantage of your condition,” Matende advised.
She hinted that they want to make collaboration with the county government of Nyamira’s health department to request them to employ a speech therapist to assist those with moderate autistic disability reclaim or restore speech to enable them communicate coherently.
Further they will want to waive medication for those suffering from epilepsy because it is too costly and they are expected to take their medication consistently.
“Data from this registration will brace NCPLWD with correct estimates of those in our county to be planned for. This will influence policy formulation and approval, resource mobilization and allocation, and easy advocacy for disability mainstreaming in various public and private organizations,” the disability officer explained.
Matende pointed that discrimination and stigmatization at family and community level is still a serious factor which hinders implementation of disability projects and the department is trying its level best to campaign against such.
“Partners and organizations of goodwill are welcome in Nyamira to collaborate with us so that together we initiate disability friendly projects, which will enable them to accept their condition, learn to live with it and at the same time be supported to engage in suitable economic activities, which will improve their livelihoods for disability is not inability,” Matende appealed.
By Deborah Bochere
