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Basseterre, St. Kitts, November 30, 2020 (SKNIS): Minister of Social Services, the Honourable Eugene Hamilton, has shown solidarity with differently-abled persons in St. Kitts and Nevis as they prepare to celebrate the International Day of Persons with Disabilities (IDPD) on December 03, 2020.

On Sunday (November 30), the minister joined with members of St. Kitts and Nevis Association of Persons with Disabilities as they worshipped and shared in the fellowship at the Antioch Baptist Church at Lime Kiln.

Minister Hamilton said that differently-abled persons are human beings. He encouraged individuals to focus on a person’s spirit rather than their incapacity.

“When you are disabled, it is what you inspire in others because of your disability and what you have accomplished,” he indicated. “…You must understand that you are not the body, you are just the spirit inside the body… so how the body is, does not matter. [If] the limb is cut off that does not matter.

Minister Hamilton said that he was proud to celebrate with the association and encouraged the differently-abled to “see yourself as wonderfully made” noting that they are fulfilling God’s purpose for their lives.

“You are here to remind us of the Glory of God. That’s why you are living among us to teach us that lesson that God wants us to understand,” he added.

The theme for IDPD 2020 is “Building Back Better: Towards a Disability-Inclusive, Accessible and Sustainable Post COVID-19 World.”

Honourable Hamilton said that the government is working to build things better as the theme suggested. He referred to the ongoing construction of sidewalks along Wellington Road as one such example of building better as it allows safe wheelchair access.

The government has also installed a lift at Government Headquarters to allow the differently-abled to access the second and third floors. A similar device was included in the designs for the new three-story Government Printery, currently under construction on Church Street.

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