A group of Physically-challenged children in the Bawjiase Programme Area of Plan Ghana, a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), on Friday made a passionate appeal to parents of physically-challenged children throughout the country not to discard their kids because of their deformities.
Such act, the worried-looking physically-challenged children said, often tended to woefully demoralize the affected children who might find themselves
in the custody of disappointed parents and eventually supprssed whatever promising talents God has given them.
The appeal was contained in a speech read by Ms. Abigail Sogah, a 17-year-old physically-challenged spokesperson for about 30 of such children who attended a special get-together organized for them by the Bawjiase Programme Area branch of Plan Ghana, as part of activities marking this year's AU Day of the African Child.
Ms. Sogah rather charged parents and guardians of kids with various forms of disabilities to cultivate the greater and immeasurable amount of self-confidence, real natural love for their disabled children and above all, a deeper sense of fellow-feeling to enable them to cater for such children adequately.
On behalf of her colleagues who took part in the two-hour party during which they were entertained to music, film shows, indoor games, soft drinks and food, Ms. Sogah expressed gratitude to Plan Ghana for organizing the party and hoped that they would make it a yearly affair.
Mr. Joseph Assan, Bawjiase Programme Area Manager of Plan Ghana, reminded the entire Ghanaian society of the decent and excellent manner in which God apportions His divine talents to individuals, and advised Ghanaians not to regard physically-challenged children in the society as completely hopeless as far as community and national development was concerned.
Mr. Assan said that, there are a lot of good things in people with disabilities that can be tapped for the socio-economic, and spiritual and moral development of the country,
Mad. Margaret Coffie, Sponsorship Assistant of Plan Ghana, counselled mothers nurturing physically-challenged children not to feel dejected but team up with their partners to give them the requisite training to enable them to fit into society.
"This is the only way we could make our less fortunate children feel that they formed part of the national development machinery and contribute their quota towards national development," she said.