Some 20 volunteers were trained by Ability Bhutan Society to assist people with disabilities as a pre-emptive measure to help this vulnerable group in an event of a lock down in the country. The training was conducted in Thimphu yesterday.
People with disabilities have been identified as a vulnerable group in the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. In an event Bhutan enters into the red zone, this group will be posed with more challenges, especially if they do not have any helpers.
Limitations in movement and difficulty in reading and writing are some of the challenges that visually impaired people are facing during the COVID-19 pandemic. And if the situation worsens, they need to be furthered assisted by someone to avail health services or if anyone is quarantined.
Volunteers said that the training was useful since most of them never had any experience working with people with disabilities.
During the training the volunteers learnt how to hold the visually impaired people while walking, gaining attention of those with hearing impairment, and handling wheelchairs.
The Executive Director of Ability Bhutan Society, Ugyen Wangchuk, said that maintaining physical distancing and washing hands frequently amid COVID-19 threat has been challenging for people using wheelchairs.
“And if the country enters lockdown they need someone to assist them. The volunteers are trained to support people living with disabilities, especially if they are hospitalised or quarantined,” he said.
One of the volunteers who attended the training, Chencho Tshering, said that the training is timely, given the current situation in the country. “I learnt how to help the visually impaired and ways to lead them. Also, I learnt tips on how to put a wheelchair in a car.”
There are over 15,000 people with disabilities in the country.
Tshering Zam
