According to the statistics, 155 of the PWDs made of 93 males and 62 females have been to school to at least the primary level.It indicates that 666 of the total, however, have attended school at some level before.

They comprise 108 males and 486 females.

It indicates that 50 of them have been trained in mobile phone repairs.

Mr Mensah said 23 students from the School for the Deaf and School for the Blind, in Wa, had been supported with GHC5,070.00 , from the two per cent of the PWDs share of the District Assemblies Common Fund.

Twenty-eight students from both secondary and tertiary institutions were also supported to pay their fees with an amount GHC11,000.00.Mr. Mensah said 141 PWDs from Bamboi, Tinga, Maluwe, Jama, Mankuma and Kakiasi communities received GHC39,330.00, while14 others were also assisted with GHC7,500.00 from the PWDs share of the District Assemblies Common Fund.

The Association of persons with disabilities, made up of the Gonjaland Federation of Disables, Ghana Blind Union and National Association of the Deaf, had also been provided with GHC13,540.00.  Mr. Mensah said there was the need to focus on educating, training and supporting PWDs to help empower them as many of them had talents and potentials to develop for the benefit of society.

He appealed to the public to be forthcoming to support “PWDs but pleaded that, that support should not be in the form of sympathy”.“It looks like society is gradually beginning to accept that disability is not spiritual,” he said.Previously people in remote communities held the view that a disabled child was a sign of bad omen or a curse not only to the parents but the entire community.

Such disabled children were considered as “evil children” who were not fit to live in the communities and were, therefore, abandoned in the forest or thrown into rivers or even killed.A few who were allowed to survive face stiff stigmatisation, discrimination, abuse and exclusion.

Disability occurs as a result of birth defect or deformity due to disease or accident.

“Disability is not spiritual or a curse, therefore, the stigmatisation, discrimination and exclusion must end now,” he said.