CBC Launches Socio-economic Empowerment Phase III For Disabled Persons

Stakeholders drawn from the Cameroon Baptist Convention Health Service and Regional Delegates of Public health, Basic and Secondary Education for the Northwest, recently met at the Bamenda Congress Hall to witness the launching of the Socio- economic Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (SEEPD) Phase III. The programme focuses on the well-being of persons with disabilities (PWD) in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. It ensures that they are socially and economically empowered and are capable of exploiting their full potential in mainstream settings.Presenting the SEEPD III, one of the senior staff of CBC health services, Ezekiel Benuh, said the programme starts from January 2, 2015 to December 31, 2018. The activities of this phase align with the initial goal of empowerment and inclusion of persons living with disabilities. It has three components; gender, programme management and child protection. He said SEEPD was designed to facilitate the active participation of disability stakeholders in the region in the improvement of quality of life of all persons with disabilities.It is funded by the Australian Agency for International Development, AUSAID, and the Christian Blind Mission CBM Australia.According to Benuh, the phase III of the SEEPD III programme will ensure the the following results are obtained: that communities incorporate persons with disabilities in their development plans except education stakeholders take up and promote inclusive education; that many more persons with disabilities have access, inclusive livelihood opportunities, among many others.The General Secretary of the CBC, Rev. Godwill Ncham, lauded the holistic nature of phase III of SEEPD and called on every sector in the Region to enroll as partners, describing it as another mustard seed.The Director of CBC Health Service, Prof. Pius Tih Muttih, disclosed that persons with disabilities continue to endure limited access to quality healthcare service, education and livelihood opportunities in Cameroon. As such, through the SEEPD Programme, the CBC Health Services is making commendable efforts to close access gaps in these critical areas and putting smiles on the faces of the PWDs. Tih pointed out that the Northwest has the highest number of people living with disabilities and urged Mayors, Parliamentarians and Senators to join the CBC in ensuring that phase III of SEEPD succeeds.Northwest Governor’s representative, Vivian Nama, advised against stigmatisation of disabled persons, arguing that they are full of potentials. “With 10.9 percent of the population of this Region made up of disabled persons, we thank the CBC for championing this project. We cannot succeed in our development strides if PWDs in the Region are ignored,” Nama averred.