Differently abled to gather in Colombo today

by Dhaneshi Yatawara

Differently abled people will gather in Colombo today to hold an awareness campaign and a walk to educate the public on their rights and the need to increase their skills for the betterment of the country. This will be a precursor to the International Day of People with Disability on December 3.

Organised by the Ministry of Social Services the walk will start from Bambalapitiya junction around 8 a.m. and proceed towards Kollupitiya junction. "This route was specifically selected because it is developed today as a disabled-friendly road with ideal pavements, pelican crossings and signals with both colours and sounds," said National Coordinator of the Community Based Rehabilitation Program of the Social Services Ministry Luxman Fernando.

The walk emphasises the need for other cities to adopt such mechanisms to develop roads and walkways in a similar manner. "The majority of the society are not adequately educated about the disabled or the differently abled community. People need to know more about their rights and use their talents and skills more productively making them a part of the national development," Fernando said.

Around 500 differently abled persons from across the country will take part in the walk today. The participants are selected from the 'Self Help Groups' set up under the Social Services Ministry in every district. Senior officials of the Ministry, representatives of ministry affiliated Non Governmental Organisations and well-wishers will join the campaign.