See the ability and not the disability

Aug 14, 2016 News

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By Sharmain Grainger

Some people are born with it, some develop it from various circumstances, but they all have to eventually try to embrace their fate in order to live a normal life. But is living a normal life for a person with a physical disability

even possible in our society?
Well, many believe it is possible but sometimes very hard to realise. This is in light of the fact that once a person with a physical disability is able to accept his or her fate, their existence is usually not a big deal. It, however, becomes a big deal when people without disabilities look down on them.
Having a physical disability, or any disability for that matter, does not make an individual any less of a human being. Even if an individual’s disability is intellectual or sensory they deserve to be respected.
However, many people with disabilities have been victims of stigma and discrimination.
Letita August can speak all too well to the challenges some disabled people face. Although she is now an independent adult striving to build a life for herself, she is hoping that she will see the day when others see her disability as secondary.
August has one arm, but there is hardly anything a two-armed person does that she can’t, and with complete ease. Styling her own hair for instance is a breeze and she always prefers an “up do” because her shoulder length hair, if worn down, can be a recipe for a very sweaty day.
August is currently employed as a part time office assistant at the National Commission on Disability located at Croal Street, Georgetown.
“It keeps me occupied….this is better than just sitting at home and watching TV,” August noted during a recent conversation with me.
But before gaining employment there last year, August recalled trying a few other places to no avail. She had all the necessary requirements but once her physical disability was observed she was asked questions such as: “You think you can do this work? How will you be able to do this in your condition?” She was essentially turned down countless times.
She often left job interviews very demoralized. In fact August, who is now 23 years old, has grown tired of answering questions about what happened to her one arm.
“I wish one day people can see me for my ability and not just my disability,” exclaimed August who has been advocating for persons with disabilities to be respected by society.
August, who was born and raised in Linden, Region 10, moved to the capital city in 2012. She currently lives in South Ruimveldt with her brother and uncle. At first glance you wouldn’t even notice that one of her arms is missing. In fact I only noticed it after she asked to take a photograph of me.
I was surprised but intrigued at the same time, and of course I wanted to know more.
Although August rarely takes time out to share her story and would much rather tell curious individuals she had an accident, she didn’t seem to mind telling me all.
She was just about two years old and like most toddlers was eager to explore. That meant, at times, even attempting to climb trees. It was just this she was attempting when she fell and hit her right arm causing some bruising. To the naked eye the bruising was normal enough, but what her parents didn’t know is that she was diabetic. So instead of healing, her bruises became worse. “It started to become black and blue and so on,” recounted August, who was just about two at the time.
Her right arm had to be amputated. At first it was a challenge getting used to her missing arm, but being the feisty child she was, she quickly adjusted.
By the time she was a teenager growing into an adult she didn’t even see the need for another arm.
But it wasn’t very easy to brush off conversations about her missing arm while attending school at Wisburg Secondary. “I used to get teased and so, but after a while I didn’t let people tease me without representing myself…not because I have one arm means I was gonna stand up and take nonsense,” she asserted.
And she had been standing up in her own way for all people with disabilities. Today August says to person with various forms of disabilities “not because you have one arm, or one leg ,or whatever it may be, don’t think it is the end of the world. Life still goes on; adjusting might take a while but life still goes on,” she insisted.
But according to her, one of the greatest challenges a disabled person can face is being denied a job.
“People at some point have to realise that not because somebody has a disability they can’t do a good job just like a person without a disability. We might try to do the job even better…if I didn’t have the confidence that I could do something I wouldn’t apply for it,” she said.
She pointed out that while family members are always willing to be supportive, she, like many other people with disabilities, feels a sense of pride when they can earn their own money and take care of themselves.
Currently the Commission on Disability is looking to garner support to have the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities implemented. Guyana has signed unto the Convention and has until 2020 to embrace the recommendations of the Convention which amplifies the need for persons with disabilities to live independently and participate fully in all aspects of life.

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