Globally, the second Thursday of October, has been set aside as world sight day, a day the visually impaired use to draw the attention of both private and public bodies to their world.
The Delta State
At the press briefing, Dr. Victor .I.O. Okeibunor (ESQ), the associations secretary, on behalf of the state chairman, called on the Delta State Government to help the association prevent blindness and rehabilitate those who are incurably blind.
Commenting on development of eye care centres and effective improvement of eye care services, Mr. Okeibounor, reminded the Delta State government that the state-owned health care centers do not treat persons with eye problems and stressed the fact that eye care centres in the state are few, they are not fully equipped for services to the blind, and do not have enough eye care medical and social workers.
The zero presence of a functional school of the blind, poor state of rehabilitations centers, non-functional inclusive educational system and near zero special education teachers in the state educational system created reasons for concern to the association.
The association’s most threatening challenge is the non-implementation of a public circular (REF.SGD.104/T/137) about government policy on recruitment of disabled persons in Delta State, drafted on 18th July 2005, by the office of the secretary to the state government, for the attention of the Governor James Ibori Led-administration.
Some members who spoke with newsmen registered their dismay over the non-implementation of the policy, the circular stated that the government has approved that 5% vacancies be reserved for qualified disabled persons, a quota they argue has not be adhered to and challenged any private investigator to examine.
Their disappointment runs deep, because, they recalled that the present governor, Dr. Emmanuel Eweta Uduaghan was by 2005, the secretary to the state government, who drafted the circular, the non-implementation of the policy in Governor Uduaghan –led administration, an administration that cites human capital development as one of it’s development agenda, and a government that sings the “promise made, promise kept” Song, for the blind, there is a huge gap, most Deltans at the press briefing, felt same.
The association seized the opportunity to advocate for the employment of more special education teachers; design and establishment of rehabilitation centers with orientation, mobility and vocational training facilities; training and retraining of already employed special education teachers; provision of special self reliant grants and access to local and oversea scholarship.
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