NASSAU, BAHAMAS — Officials from the Disability Affairs Division of the Department of Social Services, and the National Commission for Persons with Disabilities and its Secretariat, recently presented the top three finishers of a joint essay competition on “How Can I Encourage Integration with Persons with Disabilities in Bahamian Society” with their prizes.
The trio all received tablets.
The essay competition was held in the aftermath of a Virtual Disability Awareness Forum for junior and senior high school students at the eighth through 10th grade levels at both public and private school on New Providence and the Family Islands — particularly the central and southern Bahamas — that was hosted by the Disability Affairs Division.
The competition was divided into three categories — high school, junior high school and Family Island division. More than 200 students signed onto the virtual platform and benefitted from presentations from a cadre of professionals and their peers with disabilities. The forum was held under the theme “Thriving with a Disability in the Bahamian Society”.
Brianna Lloyd, a Grade 10 student at RM Bailey Senior High School, was selected as the overall winner of the essay competition at the senior high school level; Jaden Ferguson of Anatol Rodgers Junior and Senior High Schools was selected as the overall winner at the junior high school level; while Hunea Moss of South Andros High School was selected as the overall winner of the Family Island division.
Lloyd, who described herself as “an avid reader and researcher”, while adding that English Language is her “favorite subject”, said she was appreciative of the opportunity to bring greater attention to the need to ensure inclusion and access for all persons with disabilities throughout The Bahamas.
“I am very grateful and thankful for this opportunity,” she said. “I am also very proud of myself for entering the competition and winning the overall award because there were a lot of other students who participated. It is a great feeling to know that my essay was selected as the best entry among the senior high school students.”
Ferguson, a 13-year-old eighth grade student at Anatol Rodgers, said he entered the competition in order to draw attention to the need for persons with disabilities to be viewed beyond their disabilities.
“If more people were to focus on the abilities of persons with disabilities rather than focusing on their disabilities, then we would have greater inclusion for persons with disabilities,” he added.
Kendrick Rolle, special projects coordinator at the Disability Affairs Division, said the forum and subsequent essay competition were a means of encouraging and promoting inclusion and integration at all levels of society.
“It was our belief that the best way to accomplish this objective was by starting at the school level so that they can grow up with a knowledge, understanding and sensitivity towards persons with disabilities so as to make life a little bit easier on both ends,” Rolle said.
“The forum and subsequent essay competition allowed us to do just that. The forum allowed us to apprise students from across the nation on topical issues such as ‘Disability Matters’, where they learned about the various types of disabilities and their causes; ‘Disability and the Law’, where they were informed about the rights of persons with disabilities and the penalties for offending them; and ‘Disability Etiquette’, where they learned how to approach and treat persons with disabilities with dignity, while the essay competition allowed the participants to showcase some of the things they learnt from their participation in the forum.”
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