One hundred and sixty-seven persons with disabilities have received various forms of support from the disability common fund disbursed by the Tema West Municipal Assembly (TWMA). The disbursed fund, which is to help alleviate poverty among beneficiaries, is funded with three percent of the District Assembly Common Fund. Miss Felicia Edem Attipoe, the Tema West Municipal Chief Executive, said the beneficiaries were drawn from four disability groups in the district, which included the blind and albinos. Miss Attipoe said the disbursement of the funds was in the form of support for their businesses, medical care, and education, indicating that they applied for what they needed, after which they were vetted and selected. She noted that the Assembly was working on bringing out a policy to ensure that the beneficiaries received the needed training to help their businesses grow and expand. She further said persons with disabilities would be trained and used to impart the knowledge to their colleagues. The MCE stated that they would also help identify persons with disabilities in the municipality and encourage them to join the various groups and take advantage of such services to make a meaningful income. She said that to ensure that the funds disbursed would yield the needed result, a monitoring mechanism had been put in place. Mr Charles Nartei, the Chairperson of the Tema West Persons with Disabilities Common Fund, said the disbursement was done every quarter of the year to empower persons with disabilities to create a living for themselves instead of becoming a burden on their families and society. He encouraged the beneficiaries to use the money for its intended purpose to ensure that others could also benefit and to pave the way for them to access more in the future. Source: Ghana News Agency