President of the Senate, Senator Kerry-ann Ifill, speaking with University of the West Indies ‘Team Include’ students about their project aimed at educating Ellerslie Secondary School students about the importance of social inclusion of Persons with Disabilities within society.
Senator reveals most difficult part about being disabled
Wed, 04/20/2016 - 12:00am
Senator Kerry-ann Ifill says the hardest part about living with a disability is also living with the assumptions people make about you.
“The most difficult part isn’t the disability itself, it is how people treat you. People who look at you and assume that because you are blind you don’t have the same interest as others do,” said the President of Barbados’ Senate, who lost her sight at the age of four.
“Disability does not mean that you are pointless. Disability does not mean you are a freak, it doesn’t mean that you don’t enjoy the things that other people enjoy. It means that you must experience things maybe differently.
“I can’t see the dress I am wearing this morning, but that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate that it is a nice dress. I don’t know what the new fancy hairstyle is, but I can still enjoy having lovely hair. I cannot see a sunset or a sunrise, I can’t see the faces of people who are close to me, but I can experience every one of them in a different way.”
Senator Ifill was at the time addressing the students of Ellerslie Secondary School during Monday’s assembly. She joined “Team Include”, a group of Social Work students from the University of the West Indies (UWI), for a session geared towards bringing awareness to all students about disabilities and dispelling the misconceptions and myths about persons with disabilities and their inclusion in society.
She stressed that the work being carried out by the Cave Hill Campus students is extremely important. “It is preparing you to take yourselves into the world and make a positive difference and change,” she told students.
The Senator also revealed that in Barbados there are over 11 000 persons who live with a disability every day – social workers, accountants, dancers, performers, lawyers, doctors, teachers and students, “people in every aspect of life,” she indicated.
“Each one of your lives has value, whether you have a disability or not. The important thing is what you do with your life and how you treat other people; how you interact with other people.” (TL)