Kohima: Nagaland Chief Secretary Lalthara has officially flagged off ‘Badhte Kadam’ in the state, a mass nationwide disability awareness programme, at The Heritage, Kohima.
Flagging off ‘Badhte Kadam’ yesterday Mr. Lalthara said such occasion called for the people to introspect their attitude towards differently abled persons.
He termed it a beautiful concept what was earlier referred to as ‘disabled’ was now conceptualized as especially-able.
He advocated on doing away with such notion and to understand that they were created by God with a special purpose. He felt that this purpose was for physically able people to learn from differently abled as he observed that the latter possessed a greater number of better qualities particularly that of selflessness.
Making a special mention of the organizers of the programme in the state- Nagaland Parents’ Association for Differently abled (NAPAD), the Chief Secretary said children with special needs changed the lives of their parents in such a way that the latter were educated on becoming noble as they gained knowledge of giving proper care not only to their children, but also to other differently abled persons.
Secretary for Social Welfare and Bamboo Mission Norman Putsure, who was the Guest of Honour at the flag off programme, said ‘Badhte Kadam’ was an awareness call for inclusiveness.
Stating that there were many things to be done in the state for the differently abled, Mr. Putsure also pointed out that responsibility towards differently abled persons was not just the duty of their parents, but also of the government and the society as a whole.
He stressed on replacing the tendency of the people to exclude differently abled in society with a policy of inclusiveness. (PTI)