Greetings Sisters and Brothers,
December 3rd is the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, which has been estimated to be nearly 1 billion people worldwide. This year’s theme is “Inclusion matters: access and empowerment for people of all abilities”.
This theme is a result of the continued barriers people with disabilities face that prohibit their equal participation in society. It is important to note that almost all of us either are, or will become, disabled to one degree or another during the course of our lives. Some due to aging, others due to trauma; the development of a disability is irrelevant, how our society sees, understands and accepts persons with disabilities is the issue.
Do we work with persons who have disabilities or do we ignore them? Do we help persons who have disabilities to become and remain independent or do we pity them? It is important to focus on the capabilities of a person, and not on the disability of an individual.
The choice is ours.
In Solidarity,
Souad Soubra, PSAC Ontario Council Members with Disabilities Representative