By: Dadson A. Musa
In these two photos are blind men; one a pianist and the other a weaver. Both of them are masters at what they do. Mr. Conteh is the pianist and Mr. Allieu is the weaver. Their visual impairments have not stopped them from reaching their God- given potentials.
Mr. Conteh happens to be the head teacher’ of Paul School For The Blind and has taken the school from nowhere to enviable heights. In the face of stark challenges, these two visually- impaired men have defied the odds and become useful members of society.
Mr. Allieu teaches weaving to blind pupils at the school.
These are all testament to the saying that “disability is not inability”. Some of the blind teachers in that school are not on government payroll so they struggle with taking care of themselves and their families. Government needs to step up and do more as even the subvention allocated to them usually comes late.
It’s also a wake- up call that physically- challenged people should be factored more into our development plans.
Their talents and potentials must not go unnoticed. They should be tapped for their own personal good and the good of our country. We have had a blind man as journalist and then minister.
So more can be achieved with the physically challenged in our country. Instead of ignoring them until they become liability to themselves and to society.
We should create every opportunity for them to be better citizens. A lot of them are still sleeping and begging on our streets.
Donor partners must also help government with this.