Meet Clara Korkor Mensah

Meet Clara, a passionate Development Practitioner working to promote disability inclusion in Ghana.

In this Q&A, she reflects on the importance of opportunity, empowerment and community participation, and explains how strengthening local capacity will help create a more inclusive future for Ghanaian people with disabilities, families and communities.

1. Why is the disability inclusion training important for Ghanaian communities ?

This training is important as it will equip development practitioners and community leaders with the knowledge and skills to ensure that no one is left behind in development processes. This is very vital because it will educate the public on how to treat persons with disability; with dignity, fairness and without bias.

These people are often marginalised, left behind and forgotten, normally when planning is being done. The training would make room for them to be more recognised, well-supported and empowered with knowledge and skill. I believe this will give them a sense of belonging, enabling them to make informed decisions, taking charge of their lives and their unique situation, while contributing to nation development.

It will also help address barriers faced by persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable groups, enabling them to participate more fully in social and economic opportunities. Ultimately, this will lead to stronger community participation, more equitable development, improved livelihoods, and more resilient communities across Ghana.

Image above left to right: Michael Gyampo (Bee Champion), Bismark & Ama Larteh (both have speech impairment) and Clara Korkor Mensah

2. What do you feel are the challenges currently facing disabled and marginalised people?

Disabled and marginalised people currently face challenges including stigmatisation, discrimination, isolation, abuse (including verbal, emotional, physical and sexual), neglect, lack of opportunities and untapped potential. They also face limited access to education, healthcare, financial services, public infrastructure and employment opportunities.

Image above: Michael Gyampo

Image above: Focus group discussion at Atonsu, Ghana

3. What do you hope to learn from Hope Agwang?

I hope to learn from Hope’s experience in advancing inclusion, especially practical tools and approaches for engaging marginalised groups, addressing participation barriers, and embedding gender equality and social inclusion principles into community and organisational programmes. I hope to build my capacity in engaging meaningfully with people with disabilities. I want to learn how to get them inspired, keep them inspired and actively involved in projects to better their lives and families.

4. How do you hope to adapt the learning for local communities ?

Working with local communities, I hope to be more intentional and proactive towards people with disabilities and to incorporate my learning into my work. I will do this by translating key concepts and tools into practical, culturally relevant approaches that local communities can easily understand and apply. This includes working closely with community leaders, persons with disabilities, women’s groups, and youth to ensure their voices are reflected in decision-making processes and project designs.

5. What impact do you hope the programme will have in the future ?

I hope the disability inclusion training programme will create a lasting culture of inclusion, ensuring that development interventions are designed and implemented in ways that meaningfully engage and benefit persons with disabilities, women, youth, and other marginalised groups. In the future, I expect it to strengthen our Bees for Development Ghana team capacity to integrate gender equality and social inclusion principles into our work, leading to more inclusive projects, better development outcomes, and increased opportunities for vulnerable and marginalised groups. I also expect participants from the Social Welfare Department to apply the knowledge and skills gained to make their activities and programmes more equitable, responsive, and impactful, ultimately contributing to sustainable development. For families, the application of the knowledge gained will lead to a decrease in stress associated with caring for people with disabilities since they will be empowered to be self-employed. This would also increase the income of families. Additionally, families of people with disabilities would feel at ease knowing their relatives are independent and taking charge of their lives. For communities, over a period of time, the training would neutralise stigma associated with people with disabilities when they see Bees for Development Ghana staff working closely with them. Hopefully it would take away some of the barriers that hinder people with disabilities from enjoying an all-inclusive community. People with disabilities would be gainfully employed, and this would reduce their reliance on other family members and/or state funds.

Your support can help make this vision a reality. By investing in inclusive beekeeping and disability inclusion training, you can help create opportunities for people with disabilities, strengthen families, challenge stigma, and build communities where everyone has the chance to participate, contribute and thrive.

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Image above: Bushfire poster pasting at Atonsu