A GNA feature by Philip Tengzu
Kpanfaa, (UW/R), March 20, GNA – There is a saying that disability is not inability. This saying vividly fits Charles Saavroma, a physically impaired who is but a personification of determination and the zeal to work for peace.
It is a sunny, warm and windy mid-morning, the peak of work for everyone who may have found herself or himself in a rural setting.
Without a white stick and the assistance of anyone, Mr Charles Saavroma maneuvers his way through the rather stony and grassy ground, coordinating people for a meeting.
He seemed to be conversant with and acclimatised to the environment as he trampled on stones, relocates his steps and moves on.
Mr Charles Saavroma was seen doing what one would have thought the Persons living with Disabilities (PWDs) in a rural setting like his would rarely do.
Some PWDs in Rural settings prefer begging for alms and being the end recipients of community interventions due to their disability status, but that was not the case for Mr Saavroma.
Mr Saavroma, a visually impaired young man at Kpnafaa, a community in the Wechiau Electoral Area in the Wa West District had surmounted the challenges and braced up to take up leadership responsibilities in the community.
He was leading the “Mobilising for Peace and Cohesion (MPC)” project at the community despite his disability status, which could have dissuaded some people with similar conditions from taking up that challenge.
The MPC project
The MPC project is being implemented by the Capacity Enhancement and Community Support (CAPECS) with funding from the European Union (EU) through COGINTA.
It is under the “Preventing Electoral Violence and Providing Security to the Northern Border Regions of Ghana” (NORPREVSEC) programme and implemented in 18 border communities in the Sissala West and Wa West Districts-eight communities in the Sissala West District and 10 communities in the Wa West District.
The beneficiary communities include: Gwollu, Jawia, Kusali, and Fielimon among others in the Sissala West District, and Dorimon and Talawona communities among others in the Wa West District.
The 10-month project, among other things, seeks to increase women’s engagement and their involvement in the peace-building process and community development through their effective participation in local development committees.
The motivation
For Mr Saavroma, he really did not bother about the financial reward of leading the community mobilisation for the project.
His safety as a Person with Disability and the welfare of others who might have found themselves in similar conditions, not only in his community, district or region, but the country, was the defining factor.
He said co-creating a peaceful community, a peaceful district, and a peaceful Ghana is paramount and believed that in the absence of peace in the community, the Persons with Disability would be at the receiving end.
“As every human being you need peace. If there is no peace and the people are running, where will I also run to. They know where they will pass, but I may rather be running towards the people pursuing us”, Mr Saavroma, said.
He observed that aside the concept of peace in the project, which had attracted his interest, contributing to national development initiatives had also been an integral part of him, where he had exhibited since 2012, the year he graduated from high school.
Challenges
Mr Saavroma said his community mobilisation for the MPC project was not rosy. Not only did he face movement challenges in the rocky, stony, and bushy environment, but he also suffered a high level of stigmatisation.
“Moving from house to house to inform people is something very difficult for me. The houses are far apart but I don’t have any means to move with. He intimated that, “Getting someone to give me that assistance to walk around is always difficult for me”.
He said he received some kind of rejection from some people when he went around to collate the names of the project participants.
“They were asking me who gave me that opportunity, you a blind man too and you are also showing yourself, others insult me, just that I ignore”, Mr Saavroma lamented.
Benefits
Despite the stigmatizations and spirit-killing comments he received, that did not deter Mr Saavroma from serving his people and community.
He braced those odds because he knew his motivation and has gained refuge in the knowledge he acquired from engaging in the project’s activities and the fact that the project’s success would help promote peace and unity to spare the community’s development.
Admonishment
Mr Saavroma encouraged other PWDs not to allow their disability conditions to tie them to the dark walls saying, “That old trite system whereby persons living with disability are always staying indoors is gone.”
“It is high time we came out for people to know our challenges, and many will be ready to assist us” he added.
Conclusion
As Stephen Hawking puts it; “My advice to other disabled people would be, concentrate on things your disability doesn’t prevent you from doing well, and don’t regret the things it interferes with. Don’t be disabled in spirit as well as physically.”
That may be the bonding spirit for Mr Saavroma, which every person living with disability could imbibe.
What PWDs ought to know is what Christopher Reeve said: “A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles.”
The disability condition might be an obstacle but developing the enduring spirit to persevere and surmount that obstacle is what makes the difference.
The commitment of Mr Saavroma to community service regardless of his disability is no mean achievement worth commending and if supported in any form, he could be able to contribute immensely to the development of his community, district, region, and country at large.
GNA