Battor (VR), Dec. 18, GNA- The Department of Children under the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection has held a day’s Community Sensitisation workshop on the importance of caring for children with visual impairment.
The workshop was in collaboration with the North Tongu Department of Social Welfare and Community Development with support from Visio International and Presbyterian Health Services.
It was, among other things, to sensitise community leaders and members, including parents and caregivers on the causes, effects and treatment of visual impairment among children.
The meeting was also to identify parents and caregivers of children with visual impairment to establish parent support groups in some selected communities in Volta and beyond.
Mr Albert Henyo, the North Tongu District Director of the Department of Social Welfare and Community Development, said the upbringing of people living with disabilities was a shared responsibility.
He urged parents and caregivers to actively engage such children in all activities “so they become abreast with things in our environment and other stages of life.”
He also warned community members to desist from acts of discrimination against visually impaired children.
He also emphasised that visual impairment had a significant impact on people’s health and social issues and urged parents and guardians to take care of their children with the visually impaired by sending them to school.
Mr Akrobotu Israel, Volta Regional Director, Department of Children, said there was a need for community members, especially nursing mothers, to ensure they engaged in exclusive breastfeeding of their babies.
He said parents must seek early treatment on issues of visual impairment of their children.
Mr Akrobotu also encouraged parents to train such children to become better personalities in future.
Mr Christian Mawusi, the Principal Programmes Officer of the Department of Children and a Monitoring Team member from Accra, stated, “as a Department, we will always create awareness on holistic development of children in our communities.”
Mr Jeremiah Badu Shayar, the National Coordinator for Holistic Development Programme for Visually Impaired Children (HODVIC), who is also a member of Visio International, a Netherland based Non-Governmental Organisation, appealed to participants to spread the message of caring for visually impaired children in the various communities.
He further said the NGO planned to train parents to support such children to do what other children could do.
Mr Osborn Divine Fenu, District Chief Executive (DCE) for North Tongu, on his part, said vision played an important role in life and children with visual impairment were susceptible to experiencing delays in their way of life.
Togbe Torkpo III, chief of Lasivenu Aglebekope, a community within North Tongu, who chaired the event, commended the organisers and appealed to participants to extend every aspect of the event to their various communities.
North Tongu and Hohoe are currently benefiting from the programme in the Volta Region.
Pupils, parents, and some community leaders from the District participated in the event.
There was free eye screening for children after the event.
GNA