“Persons with disabilities must not believe that they need to be fixed” – First Lady

– as Guidance and Counselling Programme launched

First Lady Arya Ali on Tuesday highlighted the importance of having persons living with disabilities be a part of the country’s revival post-COVID-19 pandemic.
She made this comment at the launch of a Guidance and Counselling Programme for persons with disabilities, an initiative by the Office of the First Lady in partnership with the Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities (GCOPD).
The event was held at State House, Main Street, Georgetown.
During the event, it was stated that the programme for young people with disabilities will be piloted with students from the Special Education Needs (SEN) schools, members of the Disabled People Organisations (DPOs) and the orphanages in Regions Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) and Four (Demerara-Mahaica).

Through the programme, persons will benefit from job coaching, psychosocial support, career guidance, capacity building among other areas of support and empowerment.
The First Lady stated that in order for these necessities to be met, it must begin with education and as such, these persons must have access to quality education. She assured the gathering that Education Minister, Priya Manickchand would agree that it is an ambitious but necessary initiative.
“It is important for me to reiterate that this starts with education. People with disabilities cannot fully participate in our economy if they do not have the skills they need,” the First Lady added.
She is also of the belief that language becomes quite important and will play an integral role in this initiative, in order to better understand and cater to the needs of these persons.
“This is where language becomes a powerful tool,” she expressed. “The language of students with disabilities is esoteric. It therefore means that we need professionals with specialised training to engage with students constantly to create a positive space and to bring them to a place of acceptance.”
She urged for all to be conscious of the obstacles persons with disabilities have to face in order to establish a sense of normalcy throughout their lives.
In addition, Programme Coordinator of the GCOPD, Ganesh Singh stated that the programme has been in the making for the past three years. “From our works across the administrative regions of Guyana, working with all categories of persons with disabilities in all age groups, it is something that we’ve noticed that there is need to provide specific guidance and counselling to young persons with disabilities,” he added.
Singh further explained that persons living with disabilities have to understand the reality of their situation and the environment in which they live hence the reason they will require guidance.
National Special Education Needs (SEN) Officer within the Education Ministry, Savvie Hopkinson referred to the launch as a significant journey based on sound understanding of the challenge persons with disabilities face.
She noted that the programme will be able to reduce the school drop-out rates amongst children with disabilities due to the lack of proper guidance and counselling.
Meanwhile, GCOPD has recognised the importance of providing guidance and support to young persons with disabilities, as they transition into adulthood and enter into the world of work.
Further, the organisation is aware of the limited exposure young persons with disabilities have to guidance and counselling services and empowerment activities. To this end, the organisation has ensured that the empowerment and development of young persons with disabilities was prioritised as one of its core programme areas.
This programme is said to be exclusively for children with disabilities and will be done virtually.
In attendance at this event were United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch; UN Resident Coordinator to Guyana, Mikiko Tanaka, members of Guyana Council of Organisations for Persons with Disabilities and other officials.