World disability day observed in Hakha
03 December 2013: An event marking the International Day of People with Disability was held at the town hall of Hakha in Chin State today.
The first observance organized in the capital attracted dozens of attendees including disabled people from Thantlang, Hakha and Kalaymyo of Sagaing Region.
It was also attended by Dr. Ba Maung, Minister of Social Affairs of the Chin State government; Pu Tha Uk, Managing Director of the Eden Centre for Disabled Children; Nun Tha Hlei Sung, from the Disabled Children Development Programme in Kalaymyo, leaders of the Bethzatha Disabled Development Centre in Hakha.
According to the Hakha Post, the morning programme started from 9am till 10:30am, and the evening session focused on disability awareness training between 1 and 4pm.
December 3, International Day of Persons with Disabilities, with the 2013 theme ‘Break Barriers, Open Doors: for an inclusive society and development for all’, is an international observance promoted by the United Nations since 1992.
In his message, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said more than 1 billion people live with disabilities today, adding: “We must remove all barriers that affect the inclusion and participation of persons with disabilities in society, including through changing attitudes that fuel stigma and institutionalize discrimination.”
According to ECDC, it is estimated that more than one million people with physical disabilities live in Burma. As of today, the population of people with disabilities in Chin State is not known.#
