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Disabled get IT training Marlene Powell entertains herself with a game of solitaire on the computer at the Abilities Foundation, Constant Spring Road, Kingston 8.
Klao Bell, Staff Reporter
DISABLED persons are being included in the technology revolution moving throughout the island. The hearing-impaired, visually-impaired, wheelchair users and persons with other disabilities are being taught to use the computer at Government-sponsored centres in the Corporate Area of Kingston and St. Andrew. So far, 93 persons have completed evening classes at the Lister Mair-Gilby Senior School for the Deaf, Salvation Army School for the Blind and Visually Handicapped, Abilities Foundation and the Spanish Town Youth Community Training Centre. "They are taught Microsoft Word, Excel, how to create spreadsheets and a variety of documents. At the end of the programme they do the HEART/NCTVET exams and if they pass they are certified," said Wilbert Williams, managing director of the Abilities Foundation. There has been a high pass rate at the Abilities Foundation, with 14 out of 18 persons passing the first examination. Throughout the programme the pass rate has been a little above 50 per cent. "Forty-seven persons sat the exam, 25 passed and those who did not, failed one aspect of the programme," said Senator Floyd Morris, co-ordinator for the Disabilities Project and Jamaica's first visually-impaired senator. Last week Tuesday, this reporter saw Marlene Powell, who has one arm, reading notes while travelling on a bus. Asked what she was reading, she said proudly, "I'm studying for my computer exam at the Abilities Foundation." She said her favourite programme was Excel, an accounting programme. "I am a little slow on the computer because I have to use one hand, but with the Excel you don't have to do much typing," Miss Powell said. Classes are held for four hours, five days a week. Some of the persons who attended the course did so out of curiosity about the computer. "I kept hearing about computer, computer, and I wanted to become enlightened about it. I hope somewhere along the line I will be able to help others to learn about it," said Doris Poyser, a switchboard operator at the Public Health Laboratory, Kingston. Last November, the Physically Disabled project was launched with an allocation of $10 million from the Government, for training and equipment. Some $50 million has been allocated over a five-year period for the project. Since the launch, 50 persons have completed courses and 42 recently completed examinations at four centres. The move to train the disabled is in keeping with the Government's telecommunication policy which seeks to "...ensure that all households including rural communities and the urban poor will have access to basic telecommunication and to promote the special interest of school, hospitals and the handicapped."
COMPUTERS are providing job opportunities for disabled persons where little or none existed before. "We have commitments from Netserv and Pathway technologies to provide jobs for qualified persons. The Ministry of Education has also committed to securing 10 spaces at the Caribbean Institute of Technology to train disabled persons," said Senator Floyd Morris, Co-ordinator of the Government's Disabled Project. Pathway Technologies, a call centre which is on a recruiting drive, has already employed two wheelchair users and plans to hire more. "We told Senator Morris that we will speak with and place disabled persons, but interestingly, during our recruitment drive last week two disabled persons showed up on their own initiative and were selected", said Lissa Grant, managing director of Pathway Technologies. Another call centre, Netserv, started operations earlier this month. Shawn Gibson, director of Contact Service, said, "We're committed to provide jobs to persons who qualify and having a disability does not disqualify anyone from working with us." But the amount invested by the Government, "is just a drop in the bucket," according to Senator Morris. "More money should be spent on this initiative because as we move into the 21st century more jobs are going to be available to them," he said, "but this is still a step in the right direction." Courtland Soares, president of the Jamaica Computer Society, pointed out that much effort needs to be made to equip disabled persons who are socially and economically marginalised. "While computers level the playing field for the disabled it boils down to the issue of capital and affordability. People with disabilities tend not to have substantial cash resources and may not be able to afford computers and specialised software. Much effort need to be made to integrate the disabled into regular lifestyle," Mr. Soares said. It is estimated that there are more than 200,000 disabled persons in Jamaica and only 200 are employed, mostly in the Government sector. K. B
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