NASSAU, The Bahamas –The government needs to
work aggressively in order to meet the needs of those afflicted with
developmental disabilities. Prime
Minister, the Rt. Hon. Perry G. Christie says that his own personal experience
puts him in an excellent position to advocate for change in the way the
disabled are dealt with in The Bahamas.
The Prime Minister made the remarks during his
address of the Opening Ceremony for the Multi-Service Facility for Adults with
Developmental Disabilities seminar. The three-day event sponsored by the
Ministry of Social Services and Community Development, commenced on Wednesday,
February 25. Facilitators for the seminar included renowned master trainers,
Perry Samowitz, Fred Feibush and Fawzi Abu-Hashish.
“There is an acute need for major
intervention on the part of the government after hearing stories such as
disabled persons being locked away alone at home when parents have to go out to
work or having to toil daily just to survive,” said Mr. Christie.
“As a father who has had to watch a child
locked away in the body of a grown man, I am all too aware of the challenges
that parents and family members face on a daily basis,” he said. “This is the
reason why I am so passionate about this issue and why I feel that it is my
duty to right the wrongs in the way that the disabled are treated in this
country.”
Minister of Social Services and Community
Development, the Hon. Melanie Griffin said that the seminar came to fruition
after overwhelming pleas by parents, teachers and advocates, who approached the
Prime Minister about starting the programme.
“It became evident that there were many
challenges for persons with developmental and intellectual disabilities who
would age out of the traditional school setting,” said Minister Griffin. “We
had to find a way to continue to assist those persons as they became adults.
And this is where parents, teachers and strong advocates came out and worked
together to bring this programme about.”
According to the 2010 census report on
persons with disabilities there were 10,138 persons with disabilities in the
country of which males, numbering 5,250 accounted for more than half (51.8%).
With the exception of Bimini, Cat Island, Crooked Island, Harbour Island and
Spanish Wells, the number of males with disability outnumbered afflicted
females on all islands.
By virtue of its size, New Providence had the
largest number, 6,737, accounting for two thirds of this population group
however, as a percentage of the total population on this island, persons with
disabilities accounted for 2.7%.
Of this group 5 years of age and over, 7.3%
had no form of education, 47.4% had secondary level education and 7.6% had
college/university education. This compares to 1.5%, 55% and 16.7% respectively
for the population without a disability.
Approximately 17% of the disabled population
15 years of age and over was employed with the largest employer – that being
the private sector; 23% were working with government or quasi-government
corporations; and an additional 20% were self-employed.
Seventy-two percent of the persons with
disability had no form of health insurance.
With respect to accommodations in private
households, 10% lived alone, 56% lived in households with 2 to 4 persons and 9%
lived in households with eight or more persons.
Nineteen percent of persons with disability
lived in households which had a total annual income which did not exceed $10,000, 35% were in households where the
income ranged between $15,001 and $40,000 and 5% lived in household were the
income exceeded $100,000.
A further analysis of the census report
figures by the Ministry of Social Services and Community Development provides
an approximate number of 1,709 persons between the ages of 15 years to 85 years
with developmental disabilities.