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The not so friendly careers to people with disabilities.

BKiwuBKiwu ke ✭✭✭

Aside from genetic factors and diseases, the next common cause of disability is accidents ranging from vehicle accidents and war. War has been a leading cause of disability be it physical disability and mental disability (war is a cause of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder mostly to soldiers) to both victims of war and participants of the war.. The human cost of war is so devastating so much so that countries are turning to technology to mitigate the lost of human life mostly soldiers. The use of drones has gained prominence so as to minimise risk of soldiers dying when carrying out offensive attacks on the enemy in the battlefield..

The gaming industry has also been roped in to help with creating stimulated environments for training in combat. Players of video games such as Call of Duty and PUBG would be happy to know that their accuracy skills in the game are of importance in stimulated combat training being adopted by some of the advanced militaries in the world.

The advancement of weaponry has meant that the kind of injuries inflicted upon when a weapon lands on the wrong hands are equally devastating. Soldiers have acquired disabilities on account of weapons used in the field such as landmines and improvised explosive devices (IED). This means that the therapies adopted for war disabilities are different unlike when one acquires a disability from other causes such as genetics.

Unlike other cases of where one is relieved of their employment upon becoming disabled, those in the disciplined forces are only reasigned duties that are easy to do and reflect their capabilities beyond the frontline. The reasoning behind this arrangement is to provide support to soldiers who have acquired disability in their line of duty to boost their self esteem and to assure them they are of importance to the military despite the fact that they can no longer fight when in a wheelchair. Another reason provided Is the fact that members of the disciplined service are a weapon unto themselves and can be a danger to the society if not properly engaged because of their training and expertise.

The closest PWDs have come in the security sector is through the National Youth Service, a paramilitary unit charged with civilian duties in the country but which is called upon for light security duties when need be, such as crowd control during National events. Since the military and other security agencies can make adjustments to accommodate disabled soldiers, isn't it time the security sector recruited people with disabilities in the profession even if not in combat duties? For instance, in Brazil, the police service had recruited deaf police officers to man CCTV camera control rooms to ensure round the clock surveillance of the city. The deaf police officers are protected from media coverage to avoid subjecting them to criminal elements that come as a result of their jobs.

The National Police Service has been on a reform campaign that seeks to repair the damaged reputation between police and the public hence the change of name from a police force to a police service. There has also been more focus on the involvement of the police and the general penal code system in efforts to tame and prevent the rising cases of gender based violence.

Perhaps the biggest challenge to the police service has been mental health crisis in the service a crisis that has resulted in instances times above number of police turning guns on their colleagues and themselves as well. The crisis has been of great distress to the parties concerned to the point that the President offered to advise those joining the police service during a pass-out parade to speak out whatever might be disturbing them instead of seeking fatal and permanent solution by way of death.

In my view, persons with disability can help solve this crisis to some level. This is due to the fact that most people with disabilities have been confined to humanity courses more so counselling and psychology due to the nature of the disability and the long held belief by the education system in Kenya that made people with disabilities pursue education and psychology. With reasonable accommodation and protection, persons with disabilities would be fit the bill to counsel distressed police officers as they are not entirely police officers themselves hence their approach to issues is different in addition to creating an inclusive employment even in places that are thought to be not so inclusive to people with disabilities. With a pool of ready and available counselors for example, it would be possible to implement long term strategies to tackle cases of mental distress before the situation escalates further, such as having compulsory and periodic counselling sessions for police, alongside other interventions such as improving the working conditions. Moreover the move would motivate other professions that are thought to be demanding to become inclusive in addition to spreading awareness against inspiration porn, which is basically people being inspired because of a persons disability and not his output as an individual. My thoughts.


  • KingndedaKingndeda ke ✭✭✭

    I must agree with these thoughts.

    One devastating factor when recruiting person to join the service is the clause in the requirements stating "you should be physically fit and be ready to undergo intensive training ". Even though they also encourage persons with disabilities to apply, I tend to think, the process automatically puts off individual with physical disabilities and perhaps getting the exposure to the training may worsen their condition.

    This also applies to the most of the jobs gazetted.

    But if we are thinking on inclusive development, pwds have pools of talent and can offer best services only when given the chance.. for a matter of fact,several of them solve their own live-related issues without no special intervention

  • BKiwuBKiwu ke ✭✭✭

    Asanti sana @Kingndeda. Its encouraging to note that am not the only one to have such an opinion.

  • verogakioverogakio ke ✭✭✭

    Such a great article!

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