People With Disabilities Who Are Forgotten By The Government And Society Amid The COVID-19 Pandemic

Illustration (Unsplash)

JAKARTA - In the midst of handling the COVID-19 pandemic, the government and society have forgotten about disabled people who have also experienced the impact of the spread of this virus in their lives.

The General Chairperson of the Coordinating Board for Social Welfare Activities (BK3S) of East Java Province, Pinky Saptandari, said that the government and society forgot that minority groups also had difficulties because they lost their jobs.

"Often people forget that there are those who are most affected besides us. We are all hard, right. Entrepreneurs are difficult, employees are difficult, but there is something more difficult than us, namely friends with disabilities," said Pinky in an online press conference broadcast on the BNPB account. , Sunday, May 17th.

People with disabilities who work in the informal sector, for example, many deaf masseurs have been forced to lose their jobs in the past two months since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Not only that, other groups with disabilities who open repair shops are forced to sell several tools that support their work. The goal is that they can still get income to make a living.

"So many statistical data in the field have lost their jobs. Many can't work, for example, those who massage, workshops and screen printing," he said.

As a further step, said Pinky, BK3S then moved to provide assistance to people with disabilities in several areas. However, there are still many people with disabilities who have not been reached. So, he hopes the government and society can help these people with disabilities.

Not only loss of income

Apart from the problem of losing income amid the COVID-19 pandemic, in the same discussion, Executive Director of the Indonesian International Plan Foundation, Dini Widiastuti explained that many people with disabilities are apparently not registered in the social assistance provided by the government.

"(Assistance) from the government, according to data from our friends in the field has not yet arrived. From the government, now it is reported that it is only collecting data," he said.

So, Dini and Pinky, through their respective institutions they continue to strive for other steps in helping the economy of the disabled group.

BK3S for example, said Pinky, made a buy and share program. Through this program, the community can help with home products for the diffable group and then give it to others who are more in need.

Meanwhile, the Indonesian International Plan Foundation, said Dini, had initiated training in making masks for resale. This is done because they know that persons with disabilities cannot fully depend on government assistance.

"We are practicing making masks, so help a little because they have not received assistance from the government. So they must also be empowered to get up on their own," he said.

Apart from economic problems, Dini also highlighted another problem, namely the difficulty of access to education for children with special needs in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic like now.

Learning at home online, he said, has been complained by many children who are growing normally. So you can imagine how difficult it is for children with special needs.

So, then he reminded the Ministry of Education and Culture to pay more attention to education issues.

"So the Ministry of Education and Culture also how to do it so that the children are not left behind. No one left behind, he said, including also for education," he concluded.