2015 Walk of Hope in Ghana Organized by DESO – Disabled Equipment Sent Overseas

Accra: DESO means Disabled Equipment Sent Overseas and it is a registered NGO operating in Ghana for the past 9 years. The name DESO has a deeper meaning, which is the initials of the founder and director Mavis Hyde’s (“Grandma” as we all call her) grandchildren. She coined these initials by combining the first letters of the names of her grandchildren from the eldest to the youngest: Dela, Emefa, Soraya and Olivia. Mavis Hyde is 80 years old and was once upon a time married to a Ghanaian (Okai-Koi) and has lived in Ghana for the past 60 years and has two daughters, Susan and Sylvia. Grandma believes that instead of bringing self-indulgence to Ghana from abroad, one should bring any disabled equipment to support the physically challenged person and that is what she did to her husband some years back. The husband used to bring golf clubs to Ghana to play at Achimota Golf Park. Grandma removed the golf clubs and replaced them with blind canes and they were air lifted to Ghana without the husband’s knowledge.

DESO’s objective is to empower the physically challenged by supplying them with wheelchairs, crutches, blind canes etc. as well as giving them training in areas like sewing, upholstery, baking, software and hardware computer training etc.—all at no cost at the DESO centre in Kpone. DESO has been helping the Disabled National Team since 2007 and is still supporting them with crutches to train and for their international games. We have been helping our disabled associations like Blind Association, Accra Rehab Centre, OTC in Nsawam etc. with other equipment, too. DESO was responsible for taking the first double amputee to the IPC at Cardiff in the UK to qualify him for the London 2012 Paralympics—without governmental support.

In order to create awareness, we organize a sensitization walk which is the child of DESO’s Director Mavis Hyde and formal Secretary Arja Awaitey for the people by the people to give them self-esteem. We had the first one two years ago on July 27 of 2013. The walk started at Nungua Police Barrier and ended at the Ghana International Trade Fair Centre. It was a spectacular event supported by the Paramount Chief of Nungua and his traditional council.

DESO has seen the need to create awareness that disability is not a curse or inability. That is why we are doing it yearly and this year’s event followed the same route, titled the WALK OF HOPE (take a step of hope for Ghana). It was on held on July 25 of 2015, we had the honour of the Nungua Paramount Chief pouring libation and the general manger of G4S cutting the tape and together they led the walk. We had a lot of abled-body persons joining the physically challenged (i.e. people with special needs).

We should not ignore any child who has special needs because that child can also contribute to national development as we have been blessed to have people with disabilities in high positions in Ghana. Accidents causing disability can happen to anyone at any time. We wanted to give people a wake-up call that disability is never a curse; we are all equal in the eyes of the Lord Jesus.  We are asking for the same employment opportunities according to academic qualifications to be given to persons with disability. All public buildings should be made disability friendly, together with our roads. We had various associations of physically challenged enjoying the day and making new friends, they include: Kpone Association of Physically Challenged, Tema Association of Physically Challenged, people from Accra Rehabilitation Center and Salvation Army School from the Eastern Region, Tetteh Ocloo State School for the Deaf, La Disabled Association, students from Labone Senior High School and House of Grace School for the Deaf joining us, the Disabled National Football Team Players, some students from Motesco Senior High and technical school, Sharecare Ghana, and other caring individuals. We also took the opportunity to appreciate our media partners: UTV, The New Crusading Guide, TV Africa, Green FM, Hot FM, Obonu FM, Radio XYZ and Peace FM. Our sponsors are Stallion Group, Fanmilk, Indomie, Nestle, Nero natural mineral water, Ever Pure, Ernest Chemist, Bel-Aqua, TT brothers, Labadi Beach Hotel, Standpoint, Fiesta Royale Hotel, Olem Ghana, Herbert Mensah, Coka Cola, Tema Golf Club, Chicken Republic, Papaye, G4S, United Steel Company, Sethi Steel, Palace Hyper Market,  Narh-Bita Hospital. The others are TMA, TDC, La International Trade Fair Centre, and Christian Council of Ghana.

The trade fair was the GRAND FINALE. We had Francois Oliver, the GM of Fiesta Royale Hotel, as our special guest and he said that they will be supporting people with special needs to become the best. Mavis Hyde said: “Next year we are going throughout the other nine regions with Walk of Hope for Ghana anew.” Charles Teya, a double amputee who also was at the IPC, told the people that they can get to the top like him, if they don’t give up. We need all to come on board for this challenging event that will show Africa what Ghana can do for the disabled. DESO gave out over 800 different pieces of disabled equipment to the people who needed them. Other donations of rice and other items were given out to the disabled associations. Companies should come on board to support the development of DESO centre at Kpone to be a showpiece of a modern training centre for the physically challenged in our society because ‘Together We Can Make a Change’. God bless Ghana!

A release submitted by DESO.