The U.S. Embassy to Barbados, the Eastern Caribbean, and the OECS recently awarded grants to two organizations that support and advocate for members of the disabled community in Barbados and Dominica. These grants underscore the U.S. Embassy’s ongoing commitment to the disabled community, which is a key component of its larger human rights agenda.
The U.S. Embassy awarded US$7,200 to the Dominica Association of Persons with Disabilities to support a three-month national project that will provide training and mobility aids for persons with impaired vision. It also awarded US$6,000 to the Barbados Association for the Blind and Deaf to support a training program in information technology for blind and deaf persons.
These grants will also complement the work that American disabled rights activist and speaker, Malia Johnson, started during recent trips to the region which were both funded by the U.S. Embassy. During the International Week of the Deaf in 2013 and 2014, she collaborated with the Barbados Council for the Deaf to host a series of workshops and public forums that highlighted the rights of both deaf and non-hearing impaired interpreters, discussed the pressing needs of the disabled community in Barbados, and facilitated discussions between the disabled community, governmental agencies, the private sector, and the police force.
The Public Affairs Section (PAS) grants program supports projects that further U.S. foreign policy, U.S. interests, and universal values in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean. PAS engagement in all realms is guided by support for the institutions and processes that undergird the maturing democracies in the Eastern Caribbean: economic growth, citizen safety, good governance, education, health, environment, and a vibrant civil society.
*************************
DISCLAIMER
This article was posted in its entirety as received by SKNVibes.com. This media house does not correct any spelling or grammatical error within press releases and commentaries. The views expressed therein are not necessarily those of SKNVibes.com, its sponsors or advertisers
Barbados News