By Bill W. Cooper
A representative aspirant of Montserrado County’s Electoral District #8, Samuel S. Dean has vowed to be the lawmaker for all when elected during the pending Presidential and Legislative Elections next year despite his condition.
The tough-talking disabled has promised to dethrone sitting Representative Moses Acarous Gray to fully champion the plight of his constituents and the disabled community once elected.
Dean said he should not be judged by his condition but his qualification and knowledge about crucial issues; stressing that it is time for the district to elect someone who understands and knows exactly what the district needs, and that person is him.
He told this paper that his decision to contest for the district seat is to ensure that people living with disabilities have a voice and proper representation at the level of National Legislature.
Dean explained further that the legislature which should have been an advocacy place for the plight of the citizenry especially the disabled community, has now turned into money-making house, and as such, there is need for a qualified individual like him to be elected to help change the narratives.
He stated that he is on record for assisting people with disabilities as well as advocating on their behalf across the length and breadth of Liberia and also decried the poor educational status and learning condition of Liberian students including the disabled, visually impaired and disadvantaged youths.
“Every day on my porch, l call students coming from school and check in their copybooks. I find out that their notes are not proper. So, our leadership will ensure the construction of a sit-home school for all across District #8,” he said.
Dean stressed that his leadership will ensure the empowerment of the disabled community including youths, market women, as well as the equitable distribution of funds intended for the district.
“Liberia has a rich land but poor people. No need for government to give money to rice importers; it should give money to the farmers to produce more food instead, and this, we will lobby with our colleagues to ensure that Liberia produces its own food,” he noted.
Dean intimated that since 2008, he has been managing the Florence A. Tolbert and the Disabled Advocates Incorporated (FATDA), and has also distributed over 15,000 units of Assistive Technology (AT) throughout Liberia, valued at US$5 million.
A unit of AT is a pair of clutches, a wheelchair, a hearing aid, a white cane, a quad cane, a cane, spectacles and the works.
Additionally, his other advocacies include staging a peaceful protest aimed at driving awareness of the socioeconomic disparity that exists between persons with disability and their non-disabled peers.
As a result of his relentless and continuous advocacy, President George M. Weah some years back ordered that each government Ministry and Agency hire at least two persons with disability.
