Seven Persons with Disabilities Secure Jobs Through Antigua and Barbuda MSUT Programme

Antigua and Barbuda: Seven persons living with disabilities have been employed under an programme supported by the Ministry of Social and Urban Transformation. In a Press Release issued by MSUT, Bernard Warner, who is the President of the Antigua and Barbuda Association of Persons with Disabilities (ABAPD), announced this achievement. He described it as the result of more than two decades of advocacy by the organisation.

According to Warner, he wrote to Rawdon Turner, Minister of Social and Urban Transformation, soon after he was elected. Warner requested him to generate employment opportunities for persons with disabilities through his ministry.

“We really want to thank Minister Turner for lobbying and pushing this for us. Minister Turner wrote to Cabinet and Cabinet approved for eight persons with disabilities to be gainfully employed,” Warner explained. 

Warner said that even though the process took quite some time, seven individuals are now employed. They have received back pay and are earning weekly salaries. The employees are involved in several activities, which include seed propagation, landscaping, hydroponics, aquaponics, and horticulture therapy.

“We’re joyful to share this good work with the public. This is really something that we need to celebrate because the work of the ABAPD is not just about social media and edited posts. We have used a strategy of writing, meetings, and negotiations, and we have seen the benefit,” he said. 

Warner stated that the horticulture therapy programme promotes a soil and plant-based approach to therapy and rehabilitation. The programme encourages elderly individuals and persons with mobility challenges to participate by engaging them in gardening activities, creating wreaths, and interacting with nature.

He stated that the initiative also aims to address food security and climate change. He said that persons with disabilities should have knowledge and necessary skills to adapt.

Warner also praised the Government of Antigua and Barbuda for continuously investing in persons with disabilities, which amounts to millions of dollars over the years, he said.

The President disclosed that discussions are going on with officials responsible for Job Experience Programme in order to create more opportunities for young disabled people

Nevelyn Noel, who is among one of the individuals who gained employment through this initiative, shared her gratitude. She said that she is deeply grateful for this opportunity to be employed through the Ministry of Social and Urban Transformation. She said that before securing this job she was unemployed and was facing significant challenges.

She said that people often focus on a person’s disability rather than their abilities. 

“Most people, when they see someone with a disability, the first thing they look at is the part of our body that’s different, but they don’t realize we have the brain for it and we have the hands for it. All we need is work so we can provide for ourselves and our families,” Noel said. 

While expressing her gratefulness, she said, “I have a job, and that is the most important thing. I’m grateful to the association and especially to Bernard Warner and Minister Rawdon Turner because if it weren’t for him, I’d still be home without work and without money.”

Noel further described her workplace as a family and said that her income has already made a meaningful impact in her life, which enabled her to purchase a refrigerator and meet other essential requirements.