Every year we, persons with disAbilities and Deaf people celebrate and raise our awareness today.

The theme for our day is “Not all disAbilities are Visible” by the International Day of People With Disabilities (UN), Australia.

The second theme for our day is ““Building Back Better: toward a disability-inclusive, accessible and sustainable post-COVID-19 World”. by the United Nations.

Take a look at one of the businesses that run by the disAbled people and their supported managers. The video clip from the Facebook The Cookie Project – https://fb.watch/272ij6B6Ci/

Here is another one – Drinkmycoffee as well. Take a look at this one here https://www.drinkmycoffee.co.nz

I am currently involved with DrinkmyCoffee in Waikato, New Zealand as a deaf distributor. For anyone who lives in New Zealand, do check out my link if you wish to order coffee beans either this link – https://www.drinkmycoffee.co.nz/contact-jean. or my Facebook link – https://www.facebook.com/drinkmycoffeejenz/?view_public_for=113737557158379

Please take an opportunity to learn from Persons with disAbilities and Deaf people in the communities around the world. Not many people know about us, we do not get equality right to live in a house with friendly accessible, the right to work with you in the businesses, and we do not WANT to be left out or hide away from the community.

Did you know there are one billion people, or 15% of the world’s population, experience some form of disability, and disability prevalence is higher for developing countries? One-fifth of the estimated global total, or between 110 million and 190 million people, experience significant disabilities. This quote is from The World Bank website.

How can you improve health, technology and communicate better for us – Deaf people? Start learning in sign language, develop new tools in technology and health services and many other services even in education.

In New Zealand, we – D/deaf people and people with disabilities are behind the societies and behind the rest of the world and yet there are many works to catch up even to start NOW. One thing is in New Zealand has got an official language which is New Zealand Sign Language in 2006.

A message to ALL Architects and Property Developers/Investment Property Managers, and it is a simple reminder to consider the essential accessible for people with disAbilities before you design the houses/apartments/businesses/Infracture landscape/roads. Why? Many of the houses/apartments were NOT friendly accessible for us, and it is stopping us from accessible. For example, one newly built home with no ramp accessible, flat, no opened spaced and handrails for safety; even a kitchen is not opened space for wheelchair users. Or a house/apartment with no flashing light fire alarm/doorbell/security safety for D/deaf people and older people. Do you expect us to pay for the high cost of equipment at our income, not from your profit/investment return/funding? We – D/deaf people/people with disAbilities do not have average-high income over many years, and most of us live on Government benefits/low income from works. You make a lot of profits/high investment earning from the buyers.

It is time to break down the mould of barriers, to make it happen through accessible and equal rights for us in Health, Education, Technologies and workforces. The most important part is we have the Human Right Acts under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) United Nation – https://www.un.org/development/desa/disabilities/convention-on-the-rights-of-persons-with-disabilities.html. We need to ensure that our Government and City Councils to follow this law. Many times the Government and City Council often failed to follow this law when coming down to designing the plan for their cities, even the businesses hire people, but to leave out or to pay little to us in their works. Most of us have higher skills and qualifications. It is not about the money that you do not leave out the high cost of equipment to allow us to access your building, work stations. It is sound selfish coming from you.

With the worldwide suffering from COVID19 this year, many of you may have or have not realised that we have problems facing without bits of help of support workers, badly designed full cover masks for D/deaf people who are unable to lip read/facial expression when in communicate, the communication needs to improve by the media, Government staff, by putting interpreters on TV live streamings. Please consider this to improve and get better services for us throughout COVID19 now.