After the election of new office bearers to head the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities, re-elected chairman, Mr. Leon Walcott, urged persons to step up advocating for the passage of the Persons with Disability Bill.

A cross section of the stakeholders at last Friday’s the elections.

The elections were held at a Constitution Consultation workshop at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) unit on Main and New Market Streets, last Friday.

In addition to the Chairman, other re-elected members included Public Relations Officer, Mr. Ganesh Singh; Treasurer, Ms. Mala Nandkishore; and Secretary, Ms. Simone Poole.
Among the newly appointed members were Vice Chairman, Mrs. Jeanette Jordan; Assistant Treasurer, Ms. Madra Rajkumarie; and three new committee members, Mr. Mark Archibald, Mr. Compton Wilson and Mr. Larry Callahan.

The tripartite focus of the council spans information and advice, mobilising and working together, and advocacy for disability rights.

From left, Chairman of the council, Mr. Leon Walcott, and the other members of the newly elected council.

The council aims to create a forum for organisations to support, through advocacy and other means, persons with disabilities so as to assist them to build their capacity to achieve their full potential.

In the coming months, the Chairman said some of the proposed undertakings will include awareness workshops, a national conference on disability, leadership training and capacity building.

The newly appointed team, who would hold their offices for a two-year period, pledged their support to Disabled People’s Organisations (DPOs) across Guyana.

To this end, the Walcott pointed out that there was no level playing field as far as persons with disabilities were concerned, in as much as the DPOs were advocating for one.

“And so we must re-direct our focus to a change we are sure of, which will come with the passage of the disability bill,” Walcott asserted.

He recommended that at DPO forums, where individuals pose the question of what do persons with disabilities want, the answer should be, “The passage of the disability bill.”

The Disability Bill was passed through the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, and is currently with the Ministry of Health.

Despite the delay in the passage, the Chairman asserted that the DPOs will not resort to picketing as this may be seen as being political, and this is not what the council wants.

However, Walcott stated that the bill was needed, as presently there is no legislation to support the DPOs and person with disabilities.

Until then, the Chairman said, the new leaders of the Council will continue its support as a team as that is the only was to achieve success.

Representative of the Voluntary Services (VSO), Ms. Kristine Fonacier, stated that this effort was commendable.

She added that the council represented for the first time a banding together of the DPOs, which is a significant move in the disability movement.