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{
    "id": 1581083,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1581083/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 477,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Busia County, ODM",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Catherine Omanyo",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": " Thank you, Hon. Temporary Speaker. Wow. I think I am a little bit emotional. People living with disabilities and their caregivers should not be waiting for us to think about them. We should be upfront in supporting them and thinking for them. They are already socially isolated and marooned in their own way and world. We did not think ahead in the many things we have put across in our nation. I had a countywide registration of people living with disabilities recently and some students were part of it. They do not even have a locker to encourage them to sit comfortably and write just like any other child without challenges. Some classes were built a long time ago. Due to poverty, they have not improved certain areas or ramps to help these children and any other person with mobility challenges. We must pull out all stops as a nation. They are already disadvantaged. Giving a person living with a disability Ksh2,000 a month is not enough. We have others with albinism who need sunscreens. A good sunscreen costs over Ksh1,000. What else will they do with the little money remaining if they wait for Ksh2,000 for a month? Again, they have to add good moisturisers. Not the cheap ones that make them burn, and look dark red. A good moisturiser with Sun Protection Factor (SPF) is needed. One that can help prevent cracking and keep houseflies away. I will be so stoked if people living with disabilities and their caregivers are paid some reasonable money. The cash transfer of Ksh2,000, even if we increased it to match the minimum wage, perhaps to Ksh16,000 or Ksh25,000, would help curb a lot of wastage of funds. It would curb corruption as well, because most of that money would go to the right people; the needy people, our people, our families, and our friends. I did a countywide registration, and I hired buses, matatus, and pickups to bring people to a designated place in the county. Shockingly, some of them could not be transported in matatus or buses. Even when they were squeezed in, those vehicles lacked designated areas for persons with disabilities. One can only imagine that despite all our knowledge, we are still ignorant when it comes to acquiring some of this equipment. People living with disabilities need professional counsellors. Counsellors who can genuinely help them. When we sat there the whole day, most of them did not even look happy. They looked stressed, and they had so much to share with us. But I am not a professional, so I did not know what else to do other than assist with registration. Many of them have been ignored. Resources meant for such individuals often go to those who can run left, right, and centre to claim them, while those truly in need remain without a share of the national cake. That is why registration is paramount. We have to go door to door. Our village elders know where each person living with a disability lives. Some children living with disabilities are hidden from society. They are hidden because we are still not civilised enough. We have not gone to school properly. We are trapped in outdated beliefs The electronic version of the Official Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor."
}