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{
    "id": 961064,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/961064/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 204,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. Ochillo-Ayako",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 347,
        "legal_name": "Ochilo George Mbogo Ayacko",
        "slug": "ochilo-ayacko"
    },
    "content": "Thank you, Madam Temporary Speaker. We keep on learning. Those of us who want progress, must be open to learning. Those of us who want to stay where we are, must be impervious to learning. So, I accept that important piece of information. As I was saying, Sen. (Dr). Musuruve was living a normal life. Her current condition was something she did not invite; it invaded her very active life. She has written books about disability. She has trained a disabled person and is a leading proponent and advocate for PWDs. Despite the fact that she was visited with this tragic situation, here she is. It has not impaired or disabled her ability to articulate matters affecting PWDs. She is an asset and a knowledgeable person. The fact that she has brought this Motion is a testimony to her commitment to the cause of everybody who is living with any condition that disables them or anyone with the potential of suffering such a condition. All of us who are here have that potential. Any day that you go through without any incident, you thank God. In my previous tenure, we were at the National Assembly with two Members: hon. Shidiye and the then Chief Whip Sammy Leshore. On one innocent Thursday evening they had gone to town to shop for their families. They got shot. One of them became disabled and returned to the House in a wheelchair. We also know that the Member for Kamukunji also suffered a similar incident. As we legislate this, we must know that the line between living normally and living with a condition that makes you disabled is very thin. It can happen to anybody and it happens any time. Madam Temporary Speaker, the point I am trying to make is that the kind of society that we want to build, must be a society that is able to put in place programmes that take care of the less fortunate and less advantaged people. If we do not do so, I can assure you that our turn is on the way. Such misfortunes may invade our children, families, spouses and our parents. When we have this kind of platform, we should encourage such Motions. We should graduate them into legislation, so that we have a legislative framework that is able to support this kind of situation. If you look at the public service and the private sector, there is a general policy that five per cent of employees should be PWDs. That policy is not implemented. There is absolutely no incentive to implement it. PWDs start from a disadvantaged position. You will notice first that they are unable to mix normally with other children. Therefore, without any kind of incentive, they may not acquire the skills and resources to be able to compete evenly with us. It is our duty both as an institution and individuals to ensure that we encourage them to work hard. We should encourage them to acquire competences and skills to get into business. We are also duty-bound to encourage guardians or people who support PWDs not hide them. Most of our disabled relatives are hidden in backrooms because families are embarrassed to say that my sister is blind or my daughter has this kind of disability. We keep them at home for too long because we appear to be afraid of being associated with such people. We must put in place policies that give incentives to these persons because it is them living with the burden of trying to live a normal life. We should also give incentives to their guardians or the people living around them to be able to bring them forward so that they can be streamlined into normal activities of society. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposesonly. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}