Barbados works toward a disability friendly environment

From Nation News in Barbados:

The major difference between the opportunities granted to "regular" and "disabled" people is often just the word disabled and its redefinition is on the way in 2009.

President of the Barbados Council for the Disabled David "Joey" Harper said the council would be going the extra mile in the coming year to ensure that all facilities in Barbados were disabled-friendly, especially regarding employment.

"We will be fighting for employment for the disabled. We don't want to marginalise a person because of a disability but that person must be able to work for as long as they can with that disability, and it's not just about employment but positive and developmental employment, equivalent to what ordinary citizens have available," he said.

Minister of Social Care Christopher Sinckler said last week that Government would be looking to provide new employment opportunities in the new year but cited finances as the major obstacle in achieving those objectives.

However, Harper thought that Government was on the right track, putting the disabled as a top priority. He also sent out a call to the private sector to continue their support of the disabled. He added the infrastructural changes would best show how serious they were.

"Talking about the disabled is one thing, but when we actually see the small changes coming within offices, car parks, company vehicles and so forth to fully accommodate the disabled, then we know they are serious but to date I must commend both public and private sector agencies for their improvements in handling the disabled.

"Barbados has come a very long way in dealing with this issue from where we were some 20 years ago, but there is still work to be done," Harper said.