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{
    "id": 397772,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/397772/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 55,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "They lack access to education, skills development, employment, information and knowledge. This Motion gives me an opportunity to bring to the attention of this House the potential that is out there amongst persons with disabilities. Many of them, despite the handicaps, have very strong potentials among them. For example, there is this young man in one of the slums of Nairobi with the lower limbs only. He does not have the upper limbs, but he has been able to take advantage of the ability of his legs to run a small mobile service just using his finger. Madam Temporary Speaker, Sir, we have so many other people with limited abilities, but who have taken advantage of and maximized on the little that remains. Therefore, ICT is the way forward. It will help this country achieve the constitutional threshold of inclusivity and participation by all. Inclusion will be achieved by dealing with issues of barriers that persons with disabilities have and particularly the physical barriers in our society. Many a times, in order for you to effectively participate in the activities of the society, you have to be physically located in the place of action while knowing very well that one of the greatest handicaps is a poor environment that is very unfriendly to people with disabilities. For those who are physically handicapped, this will be a solution to avoid movement from one point to another. For those who are visually impaired, they do not have to be able to use their sight, but the knowledge in ICT to interact. For a new team of persons with disabilities--- they call them dwarfs, but we call them the people limited by height. Many times when you go to our banks, the teller is usually seated about five feet above. So, wheel chair users cannot be served unless they are wheeled into a room. This is very interesting. We do not need special rooms, but equal opportunity. These counters should be placed at some level that all of us can participate. Madam Temporary Speaker, ICT will help equalize our society. I had an opportunity to train in Japan in one of the prefectures in Okinawa. They have a centre where people with extreme disabilities get training and employment. It is called Okinawa Colony. You will find a person with only one finger moving while the rest of the body is paralyzed and yet that person is able to be a caller at a market place. This person can be an editor of one of the most vibrant newspapers using one finger. The power of ICT gives opportunity to people with little potential that can be maximized. I would call upon this Government to embrace it and work on it and even keep the laptop story aside for a while. We should first have fibre optic cable around this country because people with their own initiatives will improve their lives. We will achieve the 5 per cent the Constitution desires of people with disability at every level, especially at the county level. An example is hon. Wanyonyi, the Member of Parliament for Westlands. He could not have moved everywhere in Westlands, but he took advantage of ICT. He could not access the slums in Kangema, the tall buildings and the valleys of Westlands, but through ICT, he networked and effectively campaigned and beat many other competitors. This is an opportunity for this Government to prove that inclusion and equalization can take place. In supporting this Motion, I want to rally that ICT is the way out for people with disabilities. I beg to support. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}