Emphasis on disability will make Social and Economic Development of the IDCL
The Director of the Area highlighted that the Morel Administration aims to take a new look in relation to work with disabilities.
The aim is to address the needs of a significant percentage of the population that has historically been neglected.
He announced that there will not be lines that start from the Municipality towards the potential beneficiaries but rather a joint work with each of the institutions and organizations throughout the department that work on the issue.
“When we took over, we saw that there was no management, there were no results, other than having donated some diapers or lent wheelchairs or crutches. Everything was limited to that” said Federico Perdomo.
“The first thing we did was approach MIDES to convene a specific disability Coordination Table that, because it had a designated Reference in the territory, had been inactive for many years. We cannot wait for it and we created a space, but not with public people, not with the institutions, because in those Commissions with many members there is too much dialogue, but little is seen both in management and in actions in the territory” he opined.
“We call and convene each of the interested parties, those involved, those truly affected, those who involve users who have certain needs and we convene at the first departmental table on disability” said the Director of Social and Economic Development of the Municipality of Cerro Largo.
Representatives of AGRUPATEA, HADA, SEFOR, ASFACEM, COPAHDIM, UDI-3, Association of the Deaf of Cerro Largo, Down Association, Rare Diseases and the Together Association of Fraile Muerto participated in that first meeting. “The novelty, which for us represented great satisfaction, is that all the institutions were there, absolutely all the institutions” projection.
In this broad area, there was dialogue and exchange about the different realities and different needs. “We identified many things to do. The first objective for us was to set up that table, the second was to convene them and start working, to be able to bring them all together, to identify a specific activity that will be carried out now, on December 3, that involves all situations of disability and mental health in general” advertisement.
Perdomo called to understand, empathize and fundamentally raise awareness among society as a whole. “We are not empathetic, we see a person with a disability as a weirdo, or they catch our attention or we don’t know how to act. For that we need to inform, generate empathy, create spaces for them, create conditions for them” said.
AN INFORMATION CENTER
“The aim is not only to have accessibility everywhere but also to have an information house” he posed.
“A person comes from Arévalo, arrives in the city of Melo and doesn’t know what to do. We want there to be a space, a place where they can get information, something like an Information House” advancement.
DEPARTMENT MAPPING
“There are a lot of things to do and one thing that is no less important, which we are going to do no matter what, is to carry out a mapping to know the reality of the disability situation throughout the department, in each of the corners of the department” informed Federico Perdomo.
Through this survey, we seek to identify where there are people with disabilities, what type of disability they have, how their family units are made up, what their socioeconomic situations are and what their realities are. “From there we will have a significant volume of information to begin to attack those greatest needs to, in the long term, perhaps cover each of those needs” he posed.
“We have to start, we are at zero” lament. “We are excited about it, we are committed, we have seen a strong commitment from these institutions, groups and associations” assured the General Director of Social and Economic Development of the Municipality of Cerro Largo.
