Civil service marks disability day
Civil servants and members of the National Disability Council and Lighthouse School wear yellow on International Day of Persons with Disabilities
(CNS Local Life): Civil servants, six percent of whom self-identified as persons with a disability in a recent survey, wore yellow and marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities with a photo opportunity outside the Government Administration Building on Monday, 4 December. The observance, whose 2017 theme was “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all”, was also attended by representatives of the National Disability Council and Lighthouse School.
The Health Services Authority also encouraged its staff to wear yellow to mark the day of observance.
Part of Cayman Islands Disabilities Week, the community is asked to support greater inclusion of people with disabilities by attending Sunrise Adult Training Centre’s annual Christmas Concert, “12 Symbols of Christmas”. The free event, produced and performed by clients and staff, is being held 7pm today (Thursday, 7 December) at John Gray Memorial Church Hall, West Bay.
“As one of the islands’ leading employers and service providers, the civil service takes its responsibility as a disability champion seriously,” said Deputy Governor and head of the civil service Franz Manderson, in a press release. “We are delighted to support this week of events to highlight disability locally.”
The Disability Council’s deputy chairperson Faith Gealey, said her organisation is “delighted to see more individuals from the community take time to observe International Disabilities Day”, adding, “Our council is tasked with (helping) to facilitate the integration of people with disabilities into every facet of our community.
“We truly feel that increased public awareness of disabilities will lead to greater empathy of the difficulties individuals with disabilities face and eventually, will lead to increased opportunity for full inclusion within our community.”
During Disability Week members of the newly appointed council also discussed related issues and highlighted their work/mandate on local radio. The 15-person council, consisting of members of the public with an understanding of disability issues, and six civil servants, was set up earlier this year under the Disabilities (Solomon Webster) Law, 2016. The council is mandated to advocate for disability issues and promote increased involvement by people with disabilities in all aspects of the islands’ economic, political and cultural life.
Category: Civil Service, Community, Lighthouse School
