Powaseu urges support for people living with disabilities

 By BENNY GETENG

PAPUA New Guinea Assembly of Persons with Disabilities president Ipul Powaseu has urged people to support the development of disabled people in PNG.

“Nothing about us is without us,” she said last Friday during a Consultative Implementation and Monitoring Council (CIMC) national development forum at the Parliament’s state function room.

The theme of her presentation, “Participation by people with disabilities in promoting inclusive development”, reminded participants of the importance of having disabled people included in the country’s development agendas and objectives.

She said only 1-2% of disabled people in low-income communities received rehabilitation services and there were over a million disabled people in the country.

“This is a big challenge for the country but we can look at the barriers that are hindering the participation of disabled people and break them to allow the people to be involved in interventions in communities they live in,” she said.

“The presentation is to make sure that disabled people are not excluded in any service interventions and for able people to be aware of that fact.

“Some people may assume that disabled people are not capable of participating actively in developments in the country but that mindset must be changed,” she said.