SHILLONG, July 8: The second State Network and Advocacy Meeting for inclusion of deaf-blind persons was held in the state through online mode on Wednesday and Thursday.
The meeting, organised by Bethany Society with support from Sense International India, aimed to converge with initiatives of relevant state government departments, skill development agencies, and civil society organisations for inclusion of persons with deaf-blindness.
Adult persons with deaf-blindness, parents, teachers, government officials, representatives from Meghalaya Parents Association for the Disabled (MEPAD), State Nodal Agency Centre, National Trust, besides professionals in the field of disability deliberated on solutions faced by the primary stakeholders.
Earlier, adults with deaf-blindness, parents, teachers and caregivers shared their experiences on living with impairments.
The overall consensus was the inability to access basic entitlements in education, health, jobs, mobility due to barriers equally with others, which could be reduced through more sensitivity of the various departments.
A major challenge was the lack of access to information and education because of poor communication.
Dylan Syiem, District Disability Rehabilitation Centre Officer for implementation of UDID, said: “Meghalaya has issued 22,000 Disability Certificates in this format and it is 7th in the whole country. A new order of Government of India has made Disability Certificates in UDID Format compulsory with effect from 1st June 2021. He requested the cooperation of all to implement this scheme”.
