With the aim of making the service more inclusive, a kiosk located at post 2 in Barra da Tijuca, in the west side of Rio, started to make available amphibious chairs for people with disabilities this weekend.
To attract and encourage this public to practice sports, such as surfing, the establishment created an exclusive access to assist wheelchair users. The service was inaugurated by world champion in adapted surfing, 16-year-old Davi Teixeira, who then left for Psimo Beach, California, to compete in this year’s championship.
Other initiatives mark the National Week for People with Disabilities in the wonderful city.
Between December 6th and 12th, AquaRio, BioParque and Paineiras Corcovado will promote a special program with lives, social visits and cultural presentations. From the 6th to the 10th of December, people with disabilities will be able to enter AquaRio and BioParque free of charge, upon supporting documentation.
The aim of the project is to make tourism even more accessible and promote environmental education for all audiences.
“It is essential that all people have the opportunity to discover and be enchanted by the wonders of nature. That is why it is so important for us to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities”, says Talita Uzeda, sustainability manager at Grupo Cataratas.
Surveys alert to the need for projects to include people with disabilities
According to data from the National Health Survey (PNS), released by the IBGE, in 2019, the number of people aged two years or more with disabilities in the country was 17.3 million.
One in four elderly people had some type of disability, that is, almost half (49.4%) of the population with disabilities was elderly. The survey also points out that only 25.4% of the population with disabilities of working age, that is, aged 14 or over, was employed in 2019. The level of employment is even lower in the population with intellectual disabilities: 4, 7%.
The World Bank report released this Thursday (2) addressed the physical and legal barriers faced by people with disabilities and calls attention to the need for new efforts to include this group.
In the study entitled “The Inclusion of People with Disabilities in Latin America and the Caribbean: A Path to Sustainable Development” he pointed out that the exclusion of people with disabilities from the labor market and education can represent a loss of around 3 to 7% of a country’s GDP.
“People with disabilities must be able to participate fully in public life without suffering discrimination or marginalization in schools or workplaces. In addition, they must be able to be included and have dignity and opportunities in life and, in this way, be able to contribute to the reconstruction of our countries”, said Carlos Felipe Jaramillo, vice president of the World Bank for the Latin America region and of the Caribbean.
*With information from Adriana Freitas, from CNN
Reference: CNN Brasil
