My 2010 Year In Review

My year was filled with life changing decisions and experiences. On the 19th of February I decided to become a blogger. Since I needed somewhere to promote my blog, on the 28th of April I decided to create a facebook fan page called Equal Treatment for Disabled People. Well, creating this fan page was one of the best decisions that I've ever made. On the 4th of September I went to the United States for the first time. I had a great time while I was in the United States. Although 2010 was one of the best years of my life, I can't wait to see what 2011 has in store for me.

Going No Where Fast

Year after year we observe the International Day of Persons with Disabilities but what's the point? No, really, what is the point in observing a day when we still need to do something which some Typically Abled persons think is incredible like getting into a university in Trinidad and Tobago and coming out successful. Getting into a university is a great achievement for anyone. Differently Abled or Typically Abled, until we realise this, we won't be making any progress.

Boosting Our Tourism Sector

The Government of Trinidad and Tobago is always speaking about boosting our tourism sector. Well, I have some advice for the Government. Make our sidewalks easier for our visitors who are wheelchair users to access and this will boost our tourism sector. Buy buses which can transport our visitors who are wheelchair users along with their family and/or friends and this will boost our tourism sector. Install traffic lights which beep when they turn green so our blind visitors can cross the streets independently and this will boost our tourism sector. Make sure that our visitors who are wheelchair users can access our public buildings and this will boost our tourism sector.

Parliament Not Wheelchair Ready

If you are a wheelchair user in Trinidad and Tobago and you are considering getting into politics to get into parliament, you may want to reconsider doing so because the home of the Trinidad and Tobago parliament is not wheelchair accessible. Imagine that, the country’s parliament is not wheelchair accessible.

My Budget Response

As I said in one of my previous posts, if you are silent for too long in Trinidad and Tobago people tend to forget and neglect you. On the 8th of September the Government of Trinidad and Tobago announced its 2010 - 2011 National Budget and not one word was mentioned about the differently abled community. I read the budget yesterday and I did not even see the words disabled, differently abled or handicapped. I think that the National Budget should have been called the National Budget for able bodied people because it surely was not a National Budget for differently abled people.

Bad Service At Piarco

When I returned to Trinidad on Saturday night I thought that I would have gotten the great service that I got when I was leaving Trinidad but boy was I wrong... The wheelchair attendant had a bad attitude, the airport had a wheelchair attendant shortage, therefore, the wheelchair attendant left my mother and I to fend for ourselves for approximately seven to ten minutes, therefore, my mother had to push my wheelchair a little way but the wheelchair attendant did come back and push my wheelchair until we exited the airport.

How Hard Can It Be?

I am still in the United States and I have been going to malls, etc. All the public buildings that I have been to so far have been wheelchair accessible. I went to my brother's wedding at a church and even the church where the wedding was held was wheelchair accessible, even the bath rooms at the church were wheelchair accessible. How hard can making public buildings wheelchair accessible in little Trinidad and Tobago be?

More Than Equal Treatmennt

My mother, my aunt and I are on vacation in the United States and I had someone to push my wheelchair from the time we entered Piarco International Airport then they took me to my seat on the plane. When we landed in Miami International Airport they took me off the plane then I had someone to push me through the entire airport until it was time for us to board our flight to Washington. Think about that, then think about how wheelchair users can't even get into some public buildings in Trinidad and Tobago.

Not Disabled But Differently Abled

I may not be able to walk but I can use my wheelchair to go where I need to go. I may not be able to speak clearly but I can use my laptop to write e-mails and chat on Facebook plus I use my cellular phone to send text messages. I said all of that, just to say this, differently abled people can do a lot of things with the help of technology and Determination.

Are We Invisible?

I was looking at an early morning television show a few weeks ago and they were speaking about HIV/AIDS so I text them and ask what about the disabled because they were speaking about every other community and they said that's a community that they have always overlooked. So my question is, are disabled people invisible in Trinidad and Tobago?

My Trip To Granville Beach

I just wanted to share these pictures with you.

Where Is My President?

I don't know how it works in other parts of the world but if you are silent for too long in Trinidad and Tobago people tend to forget and neglect you. With that said, can someone please tell the president of the Trinidad and Tobago chapter of Disabled People's International to make him or herself visible to the public and get in the government's face so they will not forget and neglect the differently abled community.

My Wish List

Well yesterday was election day in my beautiful country of Trinidad and Tobago and we had a change in government. I just hope that this new government will address the issues of public buildings not being wheelchair accessible, an improved public transportation system so the differently abled can get around with ease, more jobs for the differently abled and every school having an assistant or two to assist the differently abled students instead of having students with minor disabilities in 'special schools.'

A Mother's Worth

Mother's day, like all the other days that we celebrate each year, we celebrate just because we were told to. I don't agree with the notion that says that I should buy my mother a gift just because it's the second Sunday in May... Come on, why should we honour someone that is so precious to us once a year?

I'm Right Here

There are a few things that people do that really annoy me and one of those things is when people stand in front of me and talk about me like I'm not hearing what they are saying. Some people think that just because I'm in a wheelchair I'm deaf or I just can't comprehend what they say but I have news for them, I can!!!

Safe Sex

Maybe it's just me but I have never seen anything on the television channels nor have I heard anything on the radio stations telling Differently Abled people to practice safe sex. I have never heard of anyone going into a 'special school' to educate the young Differently Abled men/women on having safe sex. And yes Differently Abled people do have sex!

An Independent Mind

I don't allow anyone to control me and tell me what I should and/or should not do but I do take advice from people. Some people need to understand that Differently Abled people are not robots who you can program to do what you want them to. Every Differently Abled person has a unique way of thinking therefore you should not treat one Differently Abled person the same way that you would treat another.

Be Careful Of What You Wish For

I always hear people say that they wish that they were 'like me' because I have everything done for me. Okay let me break it down for you. I can't walk therefore I need to depend on people to take me out of the house. I don't have much control of my hands therefore I can't feed or clean myself. Be careful of what you wish for...

Don't Feel Sorry For Me

I believe that I was born differently abled for a reason, therefore, I don't feel sorry for myself and I hate people to feel sorry for me. I believe that God created me the way that I am to do things that others can't do. Therefore, I don't pray to be able bodied but I pray for health, strength, guidance and for God to keep me safe.

Just Saying Thanks

I started blogging about two months ago and I love it. I've been getting a lot of support from my friends and family members. so I just want to say thanks to all of the people that are supporting me. Love you

Jobs For The Differently Abled

Getting a job in Trinidad and Tobago is difficult for able bodied people and it's even more difficult for those with disabilities. Imagine that you can't get a job in a Government building because it's not wheelchair accessible. Think about this, you have your dream job and you get into an accident and you're able to do everything that you want to do in a wheelchair but you're out of a job because the building where you worked is not wheelchair accessible.

Accessibility

In Trinidad and Tobago if you want to go hang out with friends, you have to search for a building that happens to be on the ground floor. Why doesn't the government make it against the law for public buildings not to be wheelchair accessible? Maybe it's because they would have to shut down their own buildings!

My Achievements

One year ago if someone had told me that I would have been surfing the web on my own laptop I would have laughed and asked if they were mad but now I'm actually setting up my own website! Last week I got a new laptop, set it up with some help from my mom to get it out of the box and I was up and on the web within an hour. So I've been busy doing big things. Look out world because I'm coming!

Just A Friend

Can someone please tell me if there's a sign on some part of my body or at the back of my wheelchair that says I can just be your friend? Because I think that there is. 97 percent of my friends are ladies and I'm single........... I thought that the reason for this was the fact that I don't have money, well that was until I started seeing girls with guys that don't have jobs.......... I even heard a mother say that she wouldn't let her daughter be with a differently abled guy. Educate yourself people or just follow my blog....

Education

I don't know much about the education system in other countries but in my beautiful country of Trinidad and Tobago there are just four or five 'special schools' to accommodate the thousands of children/young adults with special needs. Although there are persons that need to be taken of 24/7, there are those that just need the school to be wheelchair friendly or someone who knows Sign Language so I think that it would be better to just have special assistants for persons who need a little assistance. Then the citizens would be more educated where the differently abled are concern...

Why?

Why don't you think before you say things like 'he would have been handsome'? Why do you look at me like I'm something instead of just a guy? Why do you pretend to like me then call me cripple? Why do you raise you voice when you talk to me? Why do you think that I can't understand what you say just because I'm in a wheelchair? WHY?

Something For You To Think About

Okay it's time for us to stop looking down on people who are not as fortunate as we are because we may find ourselves in the same situation or one even worse! So the next time you see a homeless person think about this, that can be you...