Afriquemondearab اخبار إفريقيا والعالم العربي
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*PRESS RELEASE*
*GOODWILL MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF AFRICA PARALYMPIC COMMITTEE, SAMSON DEEN, ON THE CELEBRATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITY, 3RD DECEMBER, 2021*
The 3rd of December every year is set aside as an international day for persons with disability, thus to celebrate the gains so far in our collective effort to ‘’make for an all inclusive world”.
As the world marks this important day and its milestone, I wish to salute all members of the disability fraternity especially the Paralympic movement on the continent of Africa, and the entire globe i.e. coaches, technical officials, administrators, managers, psychologists, medical personnel, classifiers, sport event organizers, governments and political leadership and volunteers for the selfless, and sacrificial services and diverse contributions towards the empowerment of persons with disability through sports.
For our gallant athletes, both past and present, I commend you immensely for your demonstrable determination and courage through the vehicle of sports for which you continue to inspire the world.
As we celebrate this day, let us be reminded that Persons with disability continue to face many challenges, including: lack of equal opportunities to quality education, employment, transportation, health care, pubic infrastructure/facilities at all levels, trade and business as well as access to sports and social welfare across the continent.
This notwithstanding, there is hope and light at the end of the tunnel with the IPCs Sports Against Stigma and I’mPOSSIBLE project initiative we shall surely use power of sports to break the barrier of stigma against persons with impairment and promote inclusion in our societies.
Let’s use today’s occasion to propagate the message of inclusiveness in all spheres of life; access, mobility and equality (equal opportunity) be re-echoed to our policy makers and implementers and be guided by the fact that, a percentage of the world’s population is made of people with physical impairment, visual impairment, intellectual impairment as well as hearing impairment whose contributions to national development cannot be overlooked.
A new page has been opened in Africa, which is of mutual, collective and common interest and effort to overcome the numerous challenges confronting persons with disabilities.
Let us all put our shoulders to the wheels for a brighter future.
May this day be a watershed in our quest to transform lives of all persons with disabilities and let the future generations be proud of what we have fought and achieved thus far.
God bless us all.
