City pledges support for Disability Friday
The programme will help able bodied people to understand the issues people with disabilities face daily.
Tshwane metro has pledged its support for Disability Friday that is marked every last Friday of the month.
The aim of the day is to raise awareness about the challenges disabled people face in everyday life.
Community and social development services MMC Sakkie du Plooy said Tshwane metro was doing what it could to assist disabled people with their problems and the city also appointed at least 2 percent of disabled people to its staff.
Du Plooy said a director who was divisional head for social development had been appointed and a lot of priority was given to the disabled.
“We currently have a director that we appointed who is disabled and in a wheelchair, so he knows exactly how to handle problems faced by disabled people. One of his tasks is to advocate for parking for disabled people in the city,” said Du Plooy.
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He said the metro would continue to fully support the Disability Friday initiative that was started by the Oppie Bol Foundation.
“We believe this should continue and it should expand so that people in Tshwane will know about it. We fully support what Oppie Bol is doing and it is a very important thing to support,” said Du Plooy.
Du Plooy said a lot of priority and attention had been provided to the disabled in the city and buildings were fully compliant for the disabled.
Oppie Bol CEO Cazle Hendricks said the foundation was intensifying the disability programme so it could raise awareness about what disabled people were facing.
“You will find that disability is only highlighted twice a year, during casual day when people wear stickers and they throw them away afterwards, and it is also highlighted on 3 December on the International Day of Persons with Disability yet we face a huge backlog in accommodating people with disability in society,” said Hendricks.
The programme will help able-bodied people to understand the issues people with disabilities faced daily.
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He said another programme his organisation would be running was a disability road race for people with all kinds of disabilities and the broader society to enjoy a 5km and 10km route race.
“The race will be on 9 November, at the Hillview High School. We encourage businesses, government departments and society to express their support for Disability Friday,” said Hendricks.
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