Volunteers with Refugee Welfare Association Cameroon, REWAC with Head office in Bamenda, have visited Persons living with disabilities, to make the fight against Covid-19 Inclusive by providing them with kits to aid in prevention.
The exercise takes place April 16th, in Bamenda, Nancho, where members of the Coordinating Unit of Persons living with disabilities recieved REWAC and items brought to assist the fight against Covid-19.
REWAC offered items like buckets, soap and hand sanitizers to the representatives of persons living with disabilities; Nincho Samuel the Coordinator of the Unit, Veronica Ngum, President of Women Living with disabilities in the Northwest Region and Tonian Peter, President for Hope Social Union for the visually impaired.
Though they were happy that they were remembered to take part in the fight against Covid-19, they also recounted the challenges they faced, since the coming of the pandemic to Cameroon.
They told REWAC that outreach teams campaigning against the disease and the Government had forgotten about their needs during these challenges and had failed to provide them with what is needed to join in the fight against Covid-19.
Veronica Ngum, President of Women living with disabilities says the challenges are enormous, considering that the exercise of washing hands is not very adaptable to the situation of persons living with disabilities.
"Women with disabilities in the Northwest face alot of challenges in preventing themselves from Covid 19, Those using crutches touch places all the time, which is not allowed as part of preventive measures, visually impaired persons need to be guided and here the social distancing is not respected and it cannot be maintained amongst persons with disability." She explains.
"With the measures put in place by government, many people do not give assistance to those persons living with disability because according to them they will not be respecting the preventive measures against Covid-19" she added.
"In the markets there is an announcement welcoming people and asking them to wash hands, but for those who are deaf and dumb, they will have need to read a handwriting indication so and an arrow that points to the bucket." Veronica Ngum, President of Women Living with disabilities.
She adds that most of these persons living with disabilities need the hand Sanitizers, just incase most of them don't find the buckets stationed in public spaces adaptable, they can always sanitize their hands.
Tonian Peter, President of Hope Social Visual Impaired persons confirms that persons with disability or those who are visualy impaired have not recieved training on preventive measures on Covid 19.
"We have not recieved training from NGOs about the disease on how to fight this deadly disease,we are grateful to REWAC for this initiative and we pray many other copy the example and make this fight inclusive, because the disease can affect anyone. We have serious challenges fighting Covid 19, we don't have directives in public Institutions and most atimes no one directs us" he explains.
"I wash my hands together with the white cane if I find myself at the tap and some people will not not notice I don't see and will only shout In a loud tone, go and wash your hands there, without assisting me even when they notice I cannot find myself to the bucket. This is challenging and we appeal on all to make the fight against Covid-19 Inclusive" Tonian Peter tells The Guardian Post.
These Persons living with disabilities at the Coordinating Unit in Nancho, tell REWAC how relief they were to recieve the items to fight Covid 19 and mention that most of them have need for hand sanitizers, pleading that ha d sanitizers be provided to their peers across the Northwest Region, so that the fight remains inclusive.