There's been a welcome increase in efforts to raise awareness of the challenges that face the disabled in Trinidad and Tobago, most notably at the launch of the T&T Blind Welfare Association's Low Vision Aid Programme in March and at Thursday's stakeholder consultation on a national accessibility code.Later on Thursday, Oregon swimmer Karen Gaffney gave a moving address at the launch of World Down Syndrome Day, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency.
"Too many experts have a distorted view of our potential," said Gaffney who was born with the chromosome condition. "Too many experts say we should not be born."The United Nations recognised 1981 as The International Year of the Disabled, significantly raising awareness of the issues facing those with disabilities. In the decades since, the fight to be recognised for their potential, and that battle for recognition, accommodation and inspiration by the differently-abled has continued into the new century.
More buildings are built today with specific modifications to meet the needs of the disabled, but there remains no consistent consideration for special needs evident in the pavements which link those buildings.The physically challenged have not faltered in drawing official and public attention to the extremely spotty state of accessibility throughout the country.
According to Jenifer Smith, president of the Trinidad and Tobago Institute of Architects, there are no formal building codes governing such compliance and contractors are not bound by law to provide access to the disabled.
While no-one building a structure in the last ten years could have missed the very public challenges mounted by increasingly activist representatives of the local community of physically challenged persons, little has been done to address this critical shortfall in our national commitment to provide an equal place for all our citizens.
At the level of government, compliance remains distinctly spotty, beginning with the inexcusable failure to ensure that pavements are completely wheelchair accessible in the city centre. There have been some improvements.
At the Low Vision Aid Programme launch, 50 visually challenged people were given handheld devices that would assist them in managing their condition. In December 2012, Social Development Minister Glenn Ramadharsingh announced a bus service designed to accommodate the disabled and elderly with a special focus on wheelchair users.
The 24 buses in the fleet are fitted nine regular seats and three spaces that can be populated using a wheelchair lift platform. The service requires 24 hours notice for a pickup from the PTSC.In a December 2011 interview with the Guardian, activist for the differently-abled, Anton La Fond called for more respect for the disabled."If we don't have that we are in trouble," he warned.
When the nation opens our roads and buildings to the disabled; they have an opportunity to become more valuable contributors to the country.It's time to stop seeing the physically challenged as needing help and choose instead to improve their capacity to contribute.
That begins by making it possible for the disabled to participate in society without physical barriers.