Africa-Press – Lesotho. The Lesotho National League of the Visually Impaired Persons (LNLVIP) and the National Association of the Deaf in Lesotho (NADL) with the support of the British High Commission Maseru are jointly
implementing a project that is aimed at promoting safety and healthcare of the blind, partially sighted and the deaf community from Covid-19. NADL Chairperson Bongiwe Buzi said through the sensitization of relevant
stakeholders, the project seeks to advocate for the need to include persons with disabilities in their response to the pandemic through creation of messages
in accessible formats including braille, audio, large print and sign language by the Ministry of Health (MoH) and the National COVID-19 Secretariat (NACOSEC).
Buzi further said persons with disabilities are disproportionately affected by the pandemic due to inaccessible information and communication, placing them at high risk of
contacting the virus. “Today we want to highlight the impact of Covid-19 on persons with disability,” she said. She emphasized a need to also solicit support from policymakers for effective inclusion of persons with disabilities
in Lesotho’s Covid-19 prevention measures and display alternative and inclusive measures that will cater for persons with disability. LNLVIP President of the Executive Board Jeremane Teele said as the two associations,
they notify Basotho about the needs that the visually impaired persons have during this Covid-19 era. Teele said the community of disabled people has been
forgotten as the government has not prepared any kind of funds or grants to assist them with their needs like the old age people that are receiving grants.
“We thought during this pandemic we will be given something because we are mostly
vulnerable and we are scared we will be infected with Covid-19,” he said. Teele emphasized that persons with disability do not have Personal Protective
Equipment (PPE) including those living in villages. He said some have lost their jobs or businesses. He said the visually impaired persons have to walk
along with an assistant holding on their elbow, “this means if they do not have a sanitizer to use after touching the assistance, they are at risk”. NADAL
Vice Publicity Secretary Letšekha Ntlale speaking on behalf of deaf people said they are equally suffering because the face masks hinder them from hearing when
a person speaks to them as they are not able to read their lips. “We always encounter challenges when we go to public places to seek for services,”. He further
said when they reach such places, people offering services to them refuse to uncover their mouths and that becomes a barrier for communication. He said they
even took an initiative of sewing masks with a transparent cover to allow easy communication so that they give them to service providers where they normally go to for services.
LNLVIP Executive Director Lisebo Phahla said, “Covid-19 is the trauma that we are all experiencing so we do not want to be left behind because we are part of the society”.
Phahla further said they avoid victims that are affected due to lack of information. If you would like to subscribe for informative newspaper FREE WhatsApp Edition, please follow this link to join.
The admin will then remove you from the welcome group so you start receiving the full version (all pages) of the newspaper weekly. https://chat. whatsapp. com/IoL8tStNSB186kQeMrb3Cg
For More News And Analysis About Lesotho Follow Africa-Press
