“Whatever their needs are, we are ready to do it” – Human Services Minister on PWDs

As Government is taking on a more focused stance on dealing with issues affecting Persons with Disabilities (PWDs), Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr Vindhya Persaud declared that her office will always be open to listen to the concerns of this marginalised section of society.
The Human Services Minister also made it clear that help will be provided, wherever possible.
Dr Persaud made the comments on Friday following President Dr Irfaan Ali’s announcement of a slew of measures in support of the PWDs community in Guyana.
Among the measures announced are a one-off $100,000 cash grant for every child living with a disability, the establishment of centres for PWDs in every region, the training of more teachers to deal with special needs children, and a streamlined registry to ensure all children with a disability get access to public assistance.
In addition to these initiatives, Minister Persaud said anyone can visit her Ministry for more support if needed.

“I want you to stay in close contact with the Ministry of Human Services. We are here to serve with a lot of humility,” the Minister stated.
“There are many other things we’re doing and I want you to be aware of it. We are just now training a number of women in professional care, childcare and adult patient care and we are asking them to do is to work towards home-based care. So, in other words, you will have day and night care facilities across the country.”
“In addition, we have started training people who live with disabilities, from since last year, teenagers and adults, so that they can be equipped with things like ICT skills and other skills so that they can gain employment or just purely for self-development.”
According to the Minister, works are already underway to develop an institute for training programmes for people living with disabilities. This is expected to be completed before September 2022.
“In addition to that, we are moving across the country to provide wheelchair, canes, hearing aids and all of that, free of cost…”
The Human Services Ministry also offers support through its “Pampers Bank”.
“I know Pampers is a thing that is very, very expensive. So, we’re also working on a Pampers Bank so when you need pampers for your children, you come and we give it to you, we also have hampers that we are giving to you,” Minister Persaud revealed.