Lombage: PWIDs have rights too

 By SONIA KENU

PEOPLE with intellectual disability (PWIDs) deserve access to services provided to people with special needs and ordinary citizens, Brenda Lombange says.

Lombange and Ruth Javati presented a report last Friday on the work they had done with communities in Port Moresby on how PWIDs could be engaged in daily activities.  

Both, also living with special needs, are involved in a project – Intellectual Disability in Community Activity – funded by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency. 

Javati said people with intellectual disabilities were those slow in learning and had very poor understanding and would need time to learn and grasp new ideas. 

Both had attended six months of training in Japan and two months field studies in Cambodia – Lombange in 2011 and Javati last year. 

The idea behind the project was that many people  did not respect the rights of PWIDs, thus the low quality of their lives.