U.S. Government Assists People with Disabilities
Franklin D. Roosevelt said “We know that equality of individual ability has never existed and never will, but we do insist that equality of opportunity still must be sought”. “The United States mission wishes you success in this important endeavor” – stated U.S. Ambassador John Tefft at the launch of the USAID supported project ”Supporting Equal Opportunities for People with Disabilities.”
This two-year project will be implemented by Save the Children (SC) together with its local partner, Coalition for Independent Living (CIL).
The goal of the program is to foster the conditions for equal opportunity and full participation of people with disabilities in the political, economic and social life of Georgia. This will be accomplished through close collaboration with government entities and relevant non-governmental stakeholders. A key priority for the project is to develop policy recommendations on disability issues. People with disabilities and their family members in Tbilisi and in the regions of Adjara, Imereti and Kakheti will be the primary beneficiaries of this activity.
The project was officially launched on International Disability Day. Opening remarks were made by U.S. Ambassador John Tefft, Speaker of the Parliament Nino Burjanadze, Chairman of the Parliamentarian Health Committee Gigi Tsereteli, Deputy Minister of Health Vakhtang Megralishvili, and Deputy Minister of Education Bela Tsipuria.
Welcoming speeches were followed by presentations made by the representatives of Save the Children and Coalition for Independent Living.
People with different disabilities spoke about their needs and concerns, a discriminative physical environment, and limited access to educational institutions, which in turn results in minimal opportunities for employment.
The U.S. Ambassador and representatives of the Georgian government talked with participants and shared their opinions regarding ways of fostering conditions for equal opportunity and full participation of people with disabilities in all aspects of life in Georgia.
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