Monrovia, Liberia – Residents of District #17, Montserrado County, and visually impaired Liberian Blama Siryon have expressed grave unhappiness with President Boakai for failing to acknowledge individuals with disabilities at his inaugural State of the Nation Address.
During his speech to the 55th Legislature on January 29, 2024, in Monrovia, up Capitol Hill, President Boakai listed a number of national goals, including infrastructure, youth empowerment, Blama Siryon, governance, and more, while ignoring the disabled community.
In an interview conducted on Thursday, February 1, 2024, visually impaired Blama Siryon pleaded with the Liberian government to prioritize the needs of people living with disabilities, adding that these people deserve decent living conditions and employment opportunities.
“We are all part of the nation, so anything they are trying to do, we as disabled people should be mentioned in every agenda of this nation. I strongly believe that disabled people are on his agenda.”
As part of his appeal to the government, he said the president should include ten people living with disabilities among the 10,000 youth training for empowerment, as stated in his SONA address.
“His statement about training 10,000 youth my recommendation to him is that at least 10 disabled people should be included as part of that 10,000 youth training.”
He emphasized that, as disabled people, they seek respectable housing and employment prospects, and he urged the Liberian president to give disabled people first priority.
