SINCE opening its doors in 2023, the Mahaica Learning Lab has become a central point for persons with disabilities to network, interact and engage with each other, learning, growing and overcoming obstacles and challenges.
The first of its kind in Guyana, the Learning Lab was designed with persons with disabilities (PWDs) in mind, providing free training for them in technical and vocational skills, including garment construction, social media management and Job Access and Speech (JAWS) for the Blind and Visually Impaired, and computer studies, among others.
Through the Learning Lab, which falls under the Support Services for Persons with Disabilities Unit (SSPDU) and by extension the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, there is a persistent effort to break barriers to communication and improve opportunities for PWDs by offering access to jobs and training opportunities.
In an interview at the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security’s boardroom on Thursday, Coordinator of the SSPDU, Mahendra Budhram, highlighted that one of the things that was found in 2023 was that many persons with disabilities had difficulties in learning, as a result of a lack of access to education.
“There were barriers to access; one being that there were no ramps, so persons with mobility issues could not access the physical building itself. You had visually impaired persons who could not see on the board, so they were not able to follow as well in any class, and those who are hearing impaired or had speech impairment have similar issues also,” Mr. Budhram shared. To help in this area, they commenced literacy and numeracy classes for PWDs.
The aim of these training opportunities, he said, is to give persons with disabilities a skill that will allow them to acquire a job or at least start a business in social media marketing, video and audio editing.
Beyond economic reasons, such opportunities are offered to boost the social interactions between PWDs. Budhram related that for many of the students, “it will be the first time that they are seeing each other, and we encourage them to form WhatsApp groups where they can communicate and keep that sort of friendship that they developed there ongoing,”
Alongside this, he mentioned a socio-economic workshop where PWDs are educated about gender-based violence (GBV) and mental health techniques and are exposed to the basics in business.
A sign-language class, level one to three, is being taught. These classes comprise PWDs who are hearing impaired or speech impaired, public servants, and all other persons who interact with PWDs.
Moreover, the SSPDU is constantly training persons without disabilities how to care for PWDs, ensuring a more inclusive and friendly environment for them.
“So, we try to break down the barrier in terms of language or communication. We may not do Braille, but we are going to look at sign language and look at other ways and other technology that can be used to break down that communication barrier,” Budhram said.