Wa: Visually impaired camp-bed weavers beg for support

A group of visually impaired camp-bed weavers in the Upper West Region are appealing to government and philanthropists to get them a permanent site in order to protect members against road accidents.

Members of the group are compelled to street-hawk with their beds under very dangerous conditions on the streets of Wa due to lack of a center for their activity.

From monitoring, members of the visually impaired weavers undergo severe difficulties in order to sell their items.

With their condition, they weave from their individual homes and take the beds in their hands in search for potential buyers on the streets.

It is the dream of these skillful visually impaired persons to have a place of their own where they can work and contribute to the development of Ghana rather than move to beg for alms on the streets .

Peter Dery Danvuro was the first visually impaired person to start weaving and hawking in the Region in 2004 after going through training at the Wa Methodist School for the Blind.

Peter later applied to his former school to teach and train other students into weaving of camp-beds, chairs, belts and tables.

Now, some of Peter’s trainees have become full-time camp-bed weavers.

But the streets of Wa have become more dangerous by the day as population increases, therefore, making the business unattractive to members as they record regular road accidents in their quest to seek for their daily sales.

Peter tells 3news.com he has been knocked down by motorists on several occasions but it’s by God’s grace that he is still alive.

He said the group has made efforts for a permanent site but leadership in government has failed them.

According to them, they can help solve issues of unemployment through the training of others and getting a market for them.

Mahama Haruna, who is Peter’s former trainee, now survives only through the weaving of beds for sale on the streets.

Haruna after weaving the bed has to take the it and roam in the streets of Wa until he meets a buyer.

He explained they can contribute to the reduction of unemployment in the country if given the necessary support by the government.

Meanwhile, the Wa Municipal Chief Executive, Alhaji Ishahaku Tahiru Moomin, who is serving his second term in office after his confirmation, has pledged to meet the group on Tuesday for the way forward.