AFRICA/TANZANIA - Covid does not choose who to hit: bishops offer training for people with special needs

Thursday, 23 September 2021

Tabora (Agenzia Fides) - "Covid does not choose, it affects everyone and that is why we must all walk together without allowing anyone to be left behind", said the Secretary General of the Bishops' Conference of Tanzania (TEC), Msgr. Charles Kitima, on the initiative of the Archdiocese of Tabora for the protection of people with disabilities from the virus. "We want everyone to be informed about the Coronavirus, everyone has to know how to protect themselves and others", said Mgr. Kitima on the training of deaf and blind people.
"The Church values human life which is a gift from God and we must respect it. Disability does not mean being less human. Everyone has the right to have information on the pandemic and to become ambassadors to others", he said, adding that the Catholic Church provides spiritual and physical services to humanity and therefore, valuing human dignity, it can never leave anyone behind, especially those with special needs.
As reported in the note sent to Fides, the head of the TEC project, Fr. Chrisantus Ndaga, highlighted the objective of the Catholic Church to reach those in need and provide education on Covid-19. "The Church does not offer only spiritual service. Training deaf and blind people is not an easy task because there is a communication barrier", he said.
In this training we made use of experts and professionals capable of using sign language and translating symbols for the deaf and braille for the visually impaired". Participants thanked the Catholic Church for providing them with education on the pandemic, reiterating that on several occasions the community leaves them behind in accessing important information due to their condition. The initiative was launched in the archdiocese of Tabora and coordinated by TEC in collaboration with Norwegian Church Aid (NCA). (AP) (Agenzia Fides, 23/9/2021)


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