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TAF AFRICA TRAINS PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYERS ON ACCESSIBILITY AUDIT

TAF AFRICA TRAINS PRIVATE SECTOR EMPLOYERS ON ACCESSIBILITY AUDIT As part of our commitment to improving the lives of persons with disabilities, TAF Africa held a two-day employers' disability confidence training for Facility and Human Resource Managers in private sector organizations. The training, funded by Sightsavers, aimed to build the capacity of participants to conduct accessibility audits within their organizations and promote disability inclusion. Representatives from various private sector organizations, including the Nigerian Association of Chambers of Commerce, Industry, Mines, and Agriculture (NACCIMA), Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), Studio 24, Petrus Hotel, and Ave Maria University, were in attendance. The training covered various aspects of disability inclusion in the workplace. Mr. David Okoroafor, Economic Empowerment Program Officer of Sightsavers, emphasized the importance of disability inclusion in the private sector. He highlighted the significant population of persons with disabilities in Nigeria, stating that 15% of the population falls under this category. Companies that fail to consider accessibility, he argued, risk isolating a substantial portion of potential customers and employees. Mr. Okoroafor also pointed out the legal requirement for disability inclusion. The Discrimination against Persons with Disabilities (Prohibition) Act, 2018 mandated a five-year transition period for employers to implement inclusive practices and modify buildings to be accessible. This deadline ended in January 2024. With support from Sightsavers, TAF Africa hopes to empower partners by giving them the direction and technical skills they need to move toward social inclusion. The training sessions focused on equipping participants with the tools to assess and improve accessibility within their organizations. Facility managers were trained on using the International Labour Organization (ILO) accessibility document to evaluate their facilities' accessibility for staff, stakeholders, customers, and board members with disabilities. The document provides a checklist that serves as a self-audit tool.   Sightsavers offered additional support by proposing to connect participants with persons with disabilities who could serve as consultants for accessibility audits at no cost. Human Resource Managers also participated in sessions focused on ensuring their human resource policies are inclusive of persons with disabilities. Mr. George Anwayi, the Assistant Programme Manager of TAF Africa, delivered a session detailing ways to promote a disability-inclusive workplace culture. TAF Africa's initiative highlights the growing emphasis on disability inclusion in Nigeria. TAF Africa and Sightsavers are working towards a future where persons with disabilities have greater access to employment and equal opportunities, by equipping private sector employers with the knowledge and resources to create a more inclusive environment for persons with disabilities.  

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A Journey Of Rights and Disability Inclusion

A Journey Of Rights and Disability Inclusion Since the end of the Second World War, the global community has been undergoing a period of profound societal change. Civil Rights movements have shaken the foundations of the global order, standing at the heart of social transformation and progressive change for the better part of the last two centuries.This story can be traced, in various ways, to pivotal moments across our historical past. No area of human civilisation has been immune to debates and movements about the rights of individuals and the responsibility of the state, or supreme power, to the citizens who are governed by it.Across age, class, sex, faith, sexuality, and disability, individuals have advocated and fought for the gradual reshaping of their societies into the world we live in today – one aspiring toward a concrete vision of individual liberty, equality before the law, incorruptible justice, and shared prosperity. Yet, the journey has not always been smooth. We may view the past in entirely barbaric terms, and in many ways, we would be right. Still, history shows us that resistance to oppression has always existed. For the simple yet radical idea of human equality, battles were fought, won and lost; wars were waged, and countless lives were sacrificed.As far back as 1100 BCE, records from ancient Egypt suggest the occurrence of organised workers’ strikes. In 287 BCE, in ancient Rome, the dictator (no relation to modern-day dictators, please) Quintus Hortensius, passed the Lex Hortensia, a law which theoretically secured political equality between the ruling Patrician class and the free Plebeian citizens by making all resolutions from the Plebeian Council binding on all Roman citizens. Centuries earlier, Persia, under the infamous Cyrus the Great, issued the Cyrus Cylinder, a declaration often regarded as one of the earliest endorsements of religious freedom. Progress, however, has rarely been swift. It was not until the 1960s – during the height of the U.S. Civil Rights Movement – that disability inclusion began to emerge as a distinct movement with its own pure identity, advocating for a community whose experiences cut across age, class, gender, and culture. Prior to this, early steps toward social protection existed in the US, most notably the Social Security Act of the 1930s, signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, the first U.S. president with a physical disability.Between the 60s and the 90s, Civil Rights took multiple leaps forward around the globe. Across Africa, people reclaimed self-governance after a century of colonial rule. These transformations were marked by deep struggle, highlighted by the deeply divisive racial conflict in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa. In Nigeria and throughout the continent, citizens grappled with the profound responsibilities and challenges of independence, democratic self-determination, and governance.Alongside these transformations, other social changes gained momentum worldwide. As gender (sex) rights, religious liberty, and freedom of expression raced forward, the world made enormous progress in the integration of persons with disabilities (PWDs). By the late 90s, the US, Canada, India, and the UK had enacted laws prohibiting discrimination based on disability.The newly formed United Nations played a central role in shaping global disability advocacy with the 1975 UN Declaration on the Rights of Disabled Persons. This milestone set the stage for later international frameworks, most notably the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) in 2007, which emphasised not only fundamental rights like the right to accessibility and the right to life, but also focused on the socio-economic foundations that make political rights meaningful.Today, over 100 countries on Earth have enacted and implemented some form of legislation on disability inclusion. Still, the journey continues.Nationwide implementation of accessibility standards, increased participation of persons with disabilities in the workforce, politics, policymaking, and governance, inclusive education systems where children with disabilities and without disabilities learn together safely, and a societal culture that embraces rather than marginalises disability – these, and many others, are the markers of progress that remain ahead of us.On this journey toward true disability inclusion, we at TAF Africa, our donors and partners, and team, are committed to walking every step of the way.

TAF Africa Donates 45 Assistive Devices to Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in Delta State

TAF Africa Donates 45 Assistive Devices To Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) in Delta State https://youtu.be/e6x2D3BTkAs?si=XkkbjX34ICdRB2hc TAF Africa, in its efforts toward progress on inclusivity, has donated forty five assistive devices to Persons With Disabilities in Delta State.  This initiative is aimed at improving access to mobility for beneficiaries across the state. “For us, we are looking at promoting the rights of persons with disabilities”, says Dr. Andrew Adaji, Project Coordinator of the D-RAPID Project in Delta State, “One of their rights is access to mobility. So we’re using this to support them”. The Nigerian Police Force was on ground to remind everyone that their doors are open, specifically through the Disability Desks that have been setup across the country. Better access + Better Protection = A Better Nigeria.  Stakeholders, like the Delta Chairman of the Joint National Association of Persons With Disabilities (JONAPWD), express gratitude for the timely intervention and noted that the devices will significantly ease their daily movement and enhance their participation in social and economic activities. CEO/Founder of TAF Africa, Ambassador Jake Epelle, remarked, “What we have done here to do was to move or shift from mere conversation to concrete tangible commitment that we envisage will produce expected outcomes”. CEO/Founder of TAF Africa, Ambassador Jake Epelle, remarked, “What we have done here to do was to move or shift from mere conversation to concrete tangible commitment that we envisage will produce expected outcomes”. Wheelchairs and Prosthetics were distributed to Forty Five Recipients.  Moving Forward, more work needs to be done, more people need to be reached, the net needs to widened, and we need more inclusive reportage. You can support TAF Africa’s work through donations on our website, volunteering, and sharing our work to your network. 🔗 Support TAF Africa.

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