by Elise

 Update on the struggle and rights of people living with disabilities around the world:

All people living with disabilities have contributions to make and should be able to live with dignity, including being employed with a living wage and getting a good education. This is especially true for youth living with disabilities.

• In this spirit, in September the UN Summit of the Future unveiled art in Nigeria, Kenya, Senegal and New York City as part of the Sightsavers Equal World Campaign. Each piece depicts youth with disabilities.
• The first Disability Conversation in Ghana was hosted by the former Ghanaian President John Agyekum Kufuor via his John A. Kufuor Foundation. The Foundation seeks that all people who are living with disabilities in Ghana can be full participants in society. This year the focus is on health, education, employment and civic participation. President Kufuor became a person living with a disability after his presidency.
  

  Image taken during the three-day seminar organized in Tanzania. Photo: Daily News.

• Action on Disability and Development International’s (ADD International) mission is “to strengthen disability rights activists and organizations through resourcing and leadership skills.” They organized a seminar with the Movement of Women with Disabilities in Tanzania (MOWADITA). The seminar was part of the “Strengthening Women and Girls with Disabilities, Meaningful Participation in Leadership and Economic Rights,” a project funded by the UN. Rose Tesha, ADD International Africa Director said: “When we began these movements, the situation was challenging; many in our society did not believe a woman could be a good leader…However, we are now beginning to see progress, as more women are being recognized and accepted as leaders.”
• Disability Pride is celebrated year-round because it depends on where one lives. It was recently observed for days, weeks and months in Ireland, the USA, the Philippines, Canada and other countries. The U.S. Senate, however, pushed back a vote to federally fund the Autism CARES Act long-term until Dec. 21.
  
• To this day, Cuba does nothing to align with the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. Social care programming is continually cut. Children living with disabilities all attend segregated schools.
• In observance of Global White Cane Safety Day on Oct.15, awhite cane procession took place in Kuwait City on Oct. 20. Dr. Amthal Al-Huwaila, Minister of Social Affairs, Family Affairs and Childhood, was one of the marchers. People living with blindness often need a cane to help them be independent and participate in society. The Kuwait Blind Association, which organized the procession, established a youth center that cares for the blind, a Quran publishing center using Braille, and the Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah Club for Special Needs.
• “Our Voices Matter!” was the slogan of hundreds gathered in Brussels who protested residential care homes for people living with disabilities. They protested segregation, being housedwith people they did not choose to live with, and a lack of control over their living situation. Protesters demanded shutting down the residential homes, and ending their funding from the European Union.
  
• Unsurprisingly and tragically, Israeli attacks on Gaza have left many children disabled, and worsened conditions for children already living. Now they have no or little access to care and services. Their ability to flee Gaza to get care is almost nonexistent.
• The Rural Municipality of Para district, Nepal, will become fully accessible as money was allocated for people living with disabilities. Some of the funds are seed capital to be distributed to people living with disabilities as income for those who work. Also, the Deaf Visionless Parent Society demand that Shri Gyanhari Ghimire, the Joint Secretary of Ministry of Women, Children and Senior Citizens, develop a policy for children and parents with impaired vision.