17 September 2018
A welcome visit to people with special needs in Isabel Province.
I was very pleased to read in Monday’s copy of the Island Sun newspaper that a group of provincial officers in Isabel Province recently visited and spent time with many persons with special needs in the more remote areas of the Maringe and Hograno highlands, including Tirotonna, Bara, Kolkofa, Koge, Nemei Primary School and Peopeko settlements.
Mr. Edward Tadarea, the Provincial Youth Coordinator, said the visit to the remote regions was the first of its kind to raise awareness of special needs and the visit was much appreciated by all those they contacted.
The group expressed the view that communities must do more to respect people with special needs and to see they are integrated into the community and given help in all social activities.
The group also called on all stakeholders to do much more for all people with special needs, especially in terms of mobility and their sanitation requirements.
I heartily congratulate the group of provincial officers from Isabel in undertaking the visit, meeting with and raising the important needs of persons in the province with special needs.
It would my wish that the initiative undertaken in Isabel Province be followed-up in all the provinces in the country to ensure no persons with special needs are left unseen and out of mind any longer.
We have a collective responsibility to care for the needs of others and the example set by the Isabel group should be a reminder of our duty of care, compassion, understanding and responsibilities.
Yours sincerely
Frank Short
