| By Leon SuseranPull quote: “Even the bandits don’t sorry for disabled people.”The Disability Act was passed sometime ago in the Guyana Parliament. This Act was put in place to solidify government’s commitment to reach out as far as possible to and touch persons with disabilities and those confined to their homes due to certain physical conditions. However, the extent to which the general population is aware of the contents of this new Act and its implications for persons with disabilities is indeed questionable. Moreso, the very persons themselves with disabilities are questioning how the Act can be of benefit to them and how it can help to improve their lives. Rohan Doodnauth is one of those persons.Mr. Doodnauth making his way to his front door on a specially- made slope he constructed to make moving around his home easier.He lives at Number 11 Village, Corentyne and has been confined to a wheelchair for nearly 30 years. He was placed in this position as a result of a motorcycle accident on the Borlam Public Road on the Corentyne and had to leave his position at the Guyana Sugar Corporation.Doodnauth has a spinal cord injury that, if it was a bit more severe, could have rendered him a ‘vegetable’, unable to do anything for himself. Today,Air Max 97 Silver Bullet For Sale, as determined as he is, he runs a welding shop, one of the largest such facilities in the Corentyne area—from his wheelchair! However, he feels neglected and forgotten by the Disability Act and feels that he is not benefitting as he should have from this newly- passed law.In an interview with this newspaper, Doodnauth revealed that after attending school in the 70’s, he joined the Bookers Sugar Estate Apprenticeship Centre at Port Mourant where he spent two years in training, after which he completed it at the Rose Hall Estate.He loved the field of engineering and readily showed off his numerous certificates and accreditation papers of various technical courses that he completed over a period of time.He was promoted to Charge-hand at the Rose Hall Estate within the very first year of him finishing Training School (which he mentioned was not standard procedure). He was also Champion Worker for the factory in 1980 during the first crop. He worked until June 13, 1983 when his life changed. “We worked until 8 o’ clock that night”, he said.On his way to drop off a friend, he was riding his motorcycle and was accompanied by two other friends on another motorcycle. Doodnauth added that he lost control of the motorcycle at the Borlam Turn on the Corentyne and ended up breaking his spine and ended up in the hospital.The fifth, sixth and seventh vertebrae were affected.Doodnauth stated that he never explored modern technology to either lessen or deal with his ailment but was later confined to spend the rest of his earthly life in a wheelchair.Even though he was offered by the Regional Director to go back to work for GuySuCo in 1988, Doodnauth let the opportunities pass to remain at home and take things easy and focus on a new venture,Cheap Air Max Tn Shoes, his welding workshop.He was encouraged by then owner of Church View Hotel, Ramdial Bookmohan. It was Christmas of 1987, that Bookmohan, a friend of his, arrived at his home and they discussed the idea as a venture that could keep him occupied as well as a way to earn money for himself and his wife. He moved from Palmyra in 1988 to the 5 ½ acre Number 11 address and started up the business. He supervises his staff and shows them the ropes right from his wheelchair.He has built a wheelchair ramp that leads to his front door to make his life as a person with a special need, a bit easier.But in his quiet moments, Doodnauth wonders how his other friends with disabilities are fending for themselves. He wants better representation, especially now that the Act came into being. He tried on several occasions to make contact with the Disability Commission. “And them always get some little story to tell you, more like a talk”, he posited.He noted that he has to pay for all of his medical expenses to this day. “Living in this community here, and you get a Health Centre,Nike Air Vapor Max Flyknit 2017, we get no assistance. You have nothing from nobody. You have to go and buy it. You can’t say you send to the health Centre,Air Max 97 Silver Bullet For Sale,” he noted.Doctors have visited him about twice since they started the Medical Outreach programme.“Nobody bring anything, if you need something, you have to go and buy it. Me know there are laws in this country, but like nobody ain’t apply the law to you. They treat you square like anybody else.”He feels that the system has forgotten him.“Nobody thinks that with all the limitations and all I tried to do, that I still can make a contribution. But if you look at the broader picture, other people must be suffering like this and nobody cares,” he said.He receives the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) Invalidity Pension every month.A few years ago bandits attacked him and his wife and put guns to their heads.“They asked for money and gold. I had some pouch with money. I gave them. I took out my wedding band and ring and I gave them. They took me in the house and tied me up. They said they had to get more money or they would shoot me and kill me. I told my wife to give them everything,” he reflected. “Even the bandits don’t sorry for disabled people,” he said.“What keeps bothering me is that we have a Disability Act that the [then] President (Jagdeo) signed in Parliament, but , to me, the thing is so vague that it could take a hundred years to come into force. Signing it into law doesn’t make any sense. If you gotta go to court to do business, you have to get five men to lift you up. It’s very, very hard, in any public place. You don’t have any convenience,” he noted. “We need a bit more representation from the Disability Commission people. They don’t even know their head from their feet”, he added.He told Kaieteur News that a few weeks ago, he was asked to attend the National Cultural Centre to uplift his free laptop in the One Laptop Per Family Programme and was wheeled onto a ramp at the Centre,Air Max 97 Undefeated White, but “when they carry me to the door, if they (men who assisted him with the wheelchair) loosed me I could have broken my neck.” The slope, he said, was very, very steep.He does not regret taking on all the challenges of life. He lives with his very supportive wife, Premwattie. “She stood by me during the good, bad and ugly times. Once she is home, I am in heaven, for want of a better word.”Premwattie is a retired Physiotherapist with the Ministry of Health.In January of this year, Doodnauth belatedly wrote an application to go back to work with GuySuCo.One Mr Roopan,Air Max 90 Essential White And Black, the Human Resources Manager then invited him for an interview at Ogle.He said that during the interview,Adidas Nmd Pink Shoes, Roopan told him that he did not know he was confined to a wheelchair, thus he could not be employed. Doodnauth related that he did state he was in a wheelchair in the application letter. Doodnauth was also trying to make contact with Chairman of GuySuCo, Dr Nanda Gopaul but these efforts proved futile. |
