La Fond speaks out

Anton La Fond launched his book Education is life for the disabled and the pamphlet “Disability and HIV/AIDS” and Pantin, his former principal, commended him for his dedication and his commitment to serving the disabled and elderly community.

La Fond said that he was concerned about the level of access people living with disabilities had to education through the public system. He said that education was a right and not a privilege and that no one should be debarred from participating.

He said that the “able-bodied also needed to be educated on how to treat with the disabled” and that it was his desire to provide awareness and sensitise not only the disabled but the wider public on solutions to the challenges that face disabled people.

His pamphlet “Disability and HIV/AIDS” was reviewed and sanctioned by Dr Amery Browne, technical director of the National AIDS Coordinating Committee.

The book and pamphlet were sponsored by Insurance Brokers West Indies Limited (IBWL) and RBTT. Executive Chairman of IBWL, Prakash Bhaggan, said that his company was pleased to be involved in such a “noble cause.” Bhaggan said that an issue like this was not the sole responsibility of the Government and encouraged corporate Trinidad to lend their support to worthy causes as well. Michael Callender, general manager, Group Marketing and Communication, RBTT said that his organisation was able to use itsp involvement in this project as a means of introspection.

Callender said that exposure to La Fond’s material raised questions about the bank’s own facilities. He said that an audit revealed that six of there 24 branches were not easily accessible by persons with disabilities.

He said that the bank was working diligently to rectify this oversight and has determined that all future branches will be designed to accommodate the disabled.

La Fond has attended conferences and did extensive specialised training in technology for the disabled and the elderly during the period 1991-2004 in the United States and England.

He continues to apply his expertise in projects commissioned by the local private sector, in lectures at the Faculty of Engineering, Department of Civil Engineering (Technology Transfer Centre) at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine and research studies for the region.

Since 1995, he has written many articles and recent publications on social issues affecting the disabled and elderly in Trinidad and Tobago, and has been featured on radio and television programmes as an advocate for the target population.

In his book “Education is life for the disabled” La Fond writes that “education should be structured along accepting persons with disabilities as contributing members of society and be placed in high priority. This will, therefore, require more than just removing physical barriers, but also creating attitudinal changes which will take time to be fully implemented.”

The pamphlet “Disability and HIV/AIDS” asks the question, “Have you ever thought about the problems the disabled can encounter with HIV/AIDS?”. The pamphlet reads: “The disabled are certainly not excluded from contracting HIV, and in many cases may be at a higher risk. Unfortunately this risk is often not recognised by the disabled and those that care for them, and HIV programmes sometimes do not adequately address the needs of the disabled.”

It also stated that “disabled persons around the world are more likely to be victims of sexual abuse and rape than their non-disabled peers. Many disabled persons who are sexually abused never make it to the doctor or hospital because they are unfairly stigmatised and excluded based on their disability. Some disabled women and men are the targets of sexual advances or attacks because of the false belief that disabled people are invariably free of HIV”.

Caption: From left, Clive Pantin and Prakash Bhaggan listen attentively to author Anton La Fond.