Haiti, August 1, 2016 – The Haitian Government has honoured the Christian Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses, otherwise called Jehovah’s Witnesses with Accessibility Award.
The Witnesses were conferred with the award for being of help to people with disabilities. The event was held in December 3, 2015 to coincide with the International Day of Persons with Disability.
The award, one of several others in the category of Communication and Technology, was presented by then Prime Minister, Evans Paul and was received by Spokesman of the Jehovah’s Witnesses in Haiti, Mr. Daniel Laine.
Commenting on the Witnesses’ contributions to the disabled community, Guerline Dardignac, chief of staff for Bureau du Secretaire D’Etat a I’Integration des Personnes (BSEIPH), explained that “the Christian Association of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Haiti makes outstanding efforts for the inclusion of disabled ones.
“The Association takes into consideration not just the physical access to their buildings, through facilities for those with special assistance needs; it also facilitates communication and access to technology by holding meetings for worship and other activities in sign language (American Sign Language) and by providing Braille publications and sign-language videos.”
In 2013, the Witnesses received an Accessibility Award in recognition of their efforts to make their place of worship in Cayes, Haiti, handicapped-accessible.
This is the Witnesses’ second Accessibility Award since a massive earthquake pummeled Haiti, killing more than 222,000 people and injuring some 300,000—increasing the number of disabled residents by an estimated 15 percent. The Jehovah’s Witnesses received their first in 2013 when BSEIPH recognized the Witnesses’ efforts to make their place of worship in Cayes, Haiti, handicapped-accessible.
“We appreciate these awards as acknowledgements of our efforts to assist the disabled community, and we are happy to provide these services as part of our Bible educational work”, Laine said.
