The Birim Central Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Ms Ophelia Koomson, has presented a grant of GH¢7,500 to Persons with Disability (PWDs) at Akyem Oda. The grant is from the municipal assembly’s share of the District Assemblies Common Fund and it is to minimise poverty among the PWDs, particularly those outside the formal sector of employment.
It will also provide educational support for children, students and trainees with disabilities and build the capacity of PWDs to enable them to advocate and assert their rights.
Ms Koomson said the assembly had since 2010 disbursed more than GH¢164,790.35 for disability issues.
In addition to this, 352 PWDs have been given grants for various activities and this support has assisted a number of PWDs to complete their education.
Ms Koomson added that through the decentralised Social Welfare and Community Development Department, the assembly had supported the vulnerable and the disadvantaged to have access to quality health care by enrolling them in the National Health Insurance Scheme.
She also indicated that the assembly was not only disbursing the funds to the PWDs but also monitoring the utilisation through a Fund Management Committee that was carrying out quarterly monitoring visits to the beneficiaries to ensure that grants disbursed to them were being utilised for the purposes.
The MCE urged the beneficiaries to invest the funds well so that it would eventually be beneficial to them and their dependants.
She appealed to public-spirited individuals and organisations to complement the government’s efforts to make life more meaningful for PWDs in the society.
