President of the Barbados Council For the Disabled has stated that his motto for the period that he holds the position of President will be WE WILL BECAUSE WE CAN.

He is of the opinion that the challenges that persons with disabilities face are the result of decision makers in our society; those who have the power to effect change see it as a favour to a section of our society who need a chance.

This he feels is a bad attitude, in a country where over fourteen thousand citizens meet the criterion that counts them among the community of persons with disabilities.

If we do the simple mathematics we will find that the number of persons who are connected with these fourteen thousand persons will easily reach thirty or forty thousand, a significant percentage of our society. It is therefore obvious that this valuable section of our society cannot be just ignored or treated as a statistic that will be addressed when all other things are dealt with. In other words the disabled section of our community cannot just wait patiently hoping that there turn will come sometime in the future.    

The President has made it clear that his first order of business will be to reactivate the Fully Accessible Barbados program started over two years ago,  which when made to function at its full potential will see not only one section of Barbados benefiting from the initiative, but every sector of the community. This includes government, the private sector as well as every household which has the potential at some time, to housing at least one PWD, whether through the aging process or an unsuspected accident.

The President has called upon the association of architects, the town and country planning office and building contractors, to pay the same attention to detail in design when it comes to designing for the disabled, that they pay in their designs to safety feature that ensures that buildings can withstand hurricane force winds. This element of planning is not a luxury but a necessity if we are to be seen as serious in our quest to develop a FULLY ACCESSIBLE BARBADOS.

He has over the years pleaded with the powers that be to collaborate with the BCD to build a respite centre; outfit and staff it so that children with disabilities can be cared for in an environment that will see them enjoying care that caters to their needs.

The President has suggested that two million dollars is a modest amount to ask for when one considers that over five percent of our population is disabled. When one considers the accumulated factor, the amount increases significantly, representing well over ten percent of our population. A number that must not be ignored if this country is to reach the goal set by government which envisions that we must become the worlds smallest developed country.