Ghana yesterday joined the rest of the world to celebrate the International Day of Disability with a wheelchair marathon in Accra.
The celebration was on the theme, “Empowerment of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) and their Communities around the World”.
The marathon, which was contested by persons with disabilities (PWDs) in the Accra metropolis, started from the Accra Rehabilitation Centre at Adabraka, through the Kwame Nkrumah Circle, the Ohene Djan Sports Stadium and ended at the Accra Teachers Hall Complex.
Abdul Raman emerged the winner, while Abdul Saviola came second, followed by Abdul Malik.
Hellen Afriyie Bani emerged first in the women’s division, while Ms Ophilia Pupulampo came second, with Ms Vinolia Quarshigah taking the third place.
The Executive Director for Employment of Persons With Disabilities, Mr Alexander Kojo Tetteh, said the wheelchair marathon had been organised to portray to the community that PWDs were capable of engaging in virtually all activities, provided the needed logistics and facilities were available.
He said PWDs constituted about 10 per cent of Ghana's population, yet they faced a lot of problems as a result of the negative attitude of some Ghanaians against them.
He expressed concern over the non involvement of PWDs in the design and implementation of policies in the country.
Mr Tetteh said less than 10 per cent of children with disabilities were in school and appealed to the government to work towards quality education for all PWDs.
Mrs Kathryn Linn Geuts, a professor from the Hamline University in the United States of America, said the theme for the celebration was appropriate, since it would help to create awareness of the problems facing PWDs.
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