Participatory development:

NW Councils told to empower the disabled
By Njodzefe Nestor in Bamenda

Seminar participants listening to one of the facilitators

Persons with disabilities constitute 6.9 % of the total population of the North West Region. They face barriers in different aspects of life that greatly impede their access to education, employment, health and social participation. Thus these people though a part of society are deprived of their right to effectively contribute to the development of their communities.
    This is partly because in Cameroon, the ministry of social affairs that implements government policy on the disabled, has not done enough to ensure that people with disabilities also take part in the development process. 
    It is against this backdrop that the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services, CBCHS under its Socio Economic Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities SEEPD program, with the financial and technical support of CBM, organized a two day seminar to drill Mayors and councilors of some councils of the NW region on ways and means of including people living with disabilities in the development process.
    Opening the two day seminar, the SEEPD program director, Prof Tih Pius Muffih, who doubles as the CBC Health Services Director said the workshop was aimed to provide councils with a thorough understanding of disability and inclusive development. She added that councilors were targeted for the seminar because of government’s decentralization drive which now puts councils at the centre of community development.

“The key expectation of the workshop is for each council to return with strategic action plans to facilitate disability inclusion in all areas of local development,” noted Prof Tih, who hoped that after the seminar NW councils will stand out tall and be good examples in the empowerment of people with disabilities.
    Some participants at the seminar admitted that the experience and lessons gathered during the two days brainstorming has changed the way they perceived disability related issues in their municipalities.
    “We have learnt quite a lot from this seminar and I think that in the next session we will ensure that our budget allocations also provide for persons leaving with disabilities,” noted the Mayor of Jakiri Council, Jaff Romanus.
During the seminar, a memorandum of understanding was signed between the participating councils and the SEEPD program.
    Presenting the scope of the MOU, CBM’s Regional Director for Central Africa, Peter Mue said collaboration shall be in the areas of health and socio-economic, education, sports and cultural development.
    “By accepting to sign this MOU with us the councils have shown a great commitment to take a step from routine development to disability inclusive development in their communities,” added Prof Tih.
    The councils of Kumbo, Jakiri, Ndu and Nkambe were singled out and congratulated for their strides in including persons with disabilities in their action plans.
    CBM is an international Christian development organization, committed to improving the quality of life of people with disabilities in the poorest communities of the world.
    Based on its Christian values and over 100 years of professional expertise, CBM addresses poverty as a cause and a consequence of disability, and works in partnership to create an inclusive society for all.
    The Socio Economic Empowerment of People with Disabilities (SEEPD) on the other hand is a comprehensive cluster program based in the Northwest Region of Cameroon with a target population of approximately 1.7 million people. It is run in partnership with the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Services. The purpose of the program is to ensure that People with Disabilities (PWD) in the region are socially and economically empowered.
    The Program is in line with the Cameroon Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) which prescribes the adaptation of infrastructure and mechanisms for social integration of PWDs.
    SEEPD recently signed an agreement on 'Inclusive Education' with some Higher Teachers' Training Institutions. The project is also working with 14 government schools in the region to pilot the inclusive education component and the GCE board to prepare examinations on time in Braille. This has been achieved through the provision of a Braille Machine to the exam board.