Promote inclusion of children with special needs — NGO
As part of measures to promote the inclusion of children with special needs in educational and extracurricular activities, Prince's Trust International (PTI), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has held a sports event called Achieve Unified Sports.
Held in partnership with JA Worldwide Ghana (JA Ghana) and Special Olympics Ghana, also an NGO, the objective of the exercise was to allow students learn at firsthand how to work with children with disabilities and their strengths.
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The participants, who were drawn from the Dzorwulu Special School and Police Depot 1 Junior High School, engaged in activities such as football, sack race, lime, spoon race, musical chairs among others.
Misconceptions
At the ceremony, the International Programme Manager for Ghana, Prince’s Trust International, Jane Parker stated that misconceptions and discrimination against persons with disabilities needed to be erased.
“We hope for a world where we will treat others with respect, love and tolerance.
It is fantastic to see such innovative initiatives helping to support young people with disabilities.
I am extremely proud of our ongoing partnership with JA Ghana having launched our work in the country last year.
“Children need to have that conviction that they are one irrespective of how one looks and what better way to incorporate this into their understanding if not sports,” she said.
Skill development
For her part, the Programme Manager of JA Ghana, Lorretta Domfeh Owusu, added that teachers also had a role to play in changing the narrative.
“We have a soft skill development programme designed for teachers and children where we train them on how to work with children with disabilities.
“The purpose is to encourage individuals to see the person first, not the disability, as well as to respect and value the unique worth of every individual,” she said.
Prince’s Trust International has been supporting young people worldwide since 2015.
It was founded by King Charles III, the former Prince of Wales, to tackle the global crisis in youth unemployment, building on four decades of experience in the UK.
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