Gateway to Elation joins the rest of the world in commemorating the international day for people with disabilities (IDD). The theme for 2021 is:
Leadership and participation of persons with disabilities, toward an inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 world.
As Gateway to Elation, we believe in self-representation of people with disabilities (PWDs) wherever possible.
It is our hope that with the skills training programmes we provide to our blind participants, they will be able to utilise them to:
1. Participate fully in their communities. Social interaction skills enables a blind person communicate and engage – firststly amongst themselves as blind people and secondly with their sighted community members.
2. Computer literacy and smart use of the internet avails the world of information. It is our hope that with this a blind person qualifies to be in a leadership role since they can be able to research, read and learn any activity and/or skill which may be needed in a leadership environment.
3. To complete the whole circuit, a blind person who is mobile can be able to access either offices or various infrastructure with little or no assistance with the use of a white cane.
It is our sincere hope that as the Covid-19 pandemic recedes, blind and all people with disabilities shall be accorded an equal opportunity to lead in various spheres of life.
Online working during this pandemic has made us all realise the universal language of the computer! Almost all people are working remotely as a result of the lockdowns. That has cemented the value of including computer literacy for all blind people from an early age.
Gateway to Elation shall continue advocating for independence of the blind by providing training in skills needed, collaborating with schools/institutions to see the need to integrate blind and disabled people.
Happy IDD 2021!