M.P Wears Shoes of PWDs in Mbengwi, Feels their Sufferings & Intervenes

M.P Wears Shoes of PWDs in Mbengwi, Feels their Sufferings & Intervenes

The Member of Parliament for Momo East Constituency, Mbengwi has donated an economic empowerment package to persons living with disabilities in Mbengwi. Rallying at her office that also serves as a resource centre for research and computer literacy, after a welcome song, the close to 50 beneficiaries were first relaxed with another melody tuned and conducted by the M.P, Hon. Edna Enih Mbah  with the message; "We are one in the name of Jesus no matter where you come from."

When All Hope Seems Lost

Afterwards, they were schooled on the necessity to overcome their disability by engaging themselves in income generating activities like farming, poultry, pig rearing and petit business rather than relegating themselves to the position of beggars. In a thought provoking intellectual emancipation  address, the Member of Parliament told her invited guests to also desist from faking or exaggerating their inabilities. She discouraged the formation of more disability  associations for the sake of begging instead of empowering members. She rather encouraged that more members should register into the already existing Association of Persons with Special Needs, Mbengwi.

PWD Being Attacked by Epilepsy

Responding to questions from the press on what prompted her to assist persons living with disabilities in her constituency, Mbengwi, the honourable Member of Parliament, Edna Enih Mbah said "The struggle that has been going on for the past three years has caused a lot of pain and persons with special needs suffer more because they are unable to move to a better place that can be peaceful and because of the too many shutdowns, ghost towns and uncertainties, some who were engaged in some income generating activities have fallen out of business"

Hon. Edna Enih Mbah, M.P, Momo East Constituency, Mbengwi

A general package of buckets, rice and other basic needs was offered to all the persons with special abilities present including transport fare to take them back to their various homes while those already engaged in some income generating activities like shoe mending, stock breeding, agriculture had an extra special package like bags of animal feed, wheat flower and some financial capital based on their individual activities to assist them in their endeavours and also serve as inspiration to others who seem lazy. The beneficiaries had actually indicated their needs and they were provided

Agwe Eric Tata is the President of the  Association of Persons with Special Abilities, Mbengwi. Appreciating the M.PS gesture of thinking about  them, he thanked her for the initiative. He termed his peers as an endangered specie because of the ongoing crisis raging in the two English speaking regions. "Persons with special abilities need to be taken special care of too since they have a special way if doing their own things" he uttered.

Economic Empowerment Package Donated to PWDs in Mbengwi by the M.P

Mbengwi, chief town of Momo Division in the North West Region has over 50 persons living with disabilities organised in an association and their challenges are almost the same. To Tayong  Yerima Peter, a visually impaired, grazers often come and destroy their crops as they have no strength and means to fence the farms. Again, it's a difficult challenge for them to obtain a disability card and when they do, government education policy states that they and their children should be exempted from paying fees. This sounds good in the ears but ironically, Parents, Teacher's Association  (P.T.A) levy becomes too exorbitant, even far more than the school fees itself. Lastly he decried the practice where churches raise money to help them yet the practical help never comes.  "Instead of teaching us how to catch a fish, they are rather teaching us how to eat rice and the rice doesn't even last as very soon, we get hungry again." Yerima said, in a bitter tone.

Sign Board Leading to the M.Ps Office & Resource Centre

Apart from that, some of them suffer from terminal illnesses like a woman whose own illness, epilepsy, attacked her on the spot. Such have resulted to some of them sustaining broken legs, hands and scars of burns. Mbah Emmanuel Tita alias "Pope" resident in Mile 17 Mbengwi suffers from mobility impairment but this hasn't kept him down. He said he has seven agric pigs in his fence and also farms cucumbers, water melons and tomatoes. With this, he is able to pay his children's fees and sufficiently feed his family comprised of himself, wife, 5 kids and 3 other family children that he's taking care of giving a total of ten.

It should be noted that this isn't the first time persons with special abilities and IDPs in Mbengwi are receiving assistance in the course of the ongoing crisis. The state of Cameroon through the Emergency Humanitarian Assistance Package, some N.G.Os like Plan International  and the Meta Cultural and Development Association (MECUDA)  had carried out similar exercises in the past. All of this enhanced by the peaceful atmosphere that reigns withing the municipality