Patricia Padmore-Blackman is fighting for a cause. That cause is to see that people living with disabilities are given the equal rights they deserve. It involves seeking to ensure that policies and laws aimed at helping them are enforced.
She is particularly pleased with the recent laws passed by the Government to assist people living with disabilities, including an increase in penalties for people guilty of parking in designated places allotted to them.
“We must now work to see that the policies and laws in place are enforced,” a jubilant Patricia told Easy.
Advocating for such rights is nothing new for Patricia, who, last August was elected president of the Barbados Council For the Disabled (BCD).
First, she has a son who was born with Down Syndrome. Second, although she was born with perfect eyesight and spent many years in the public service, Patricia is now visually impaired because of a degenerative eye disease which led to her “unceremonious departure” from her workplace.
The wife and mother of two shared: “My son has Down Syndrome and he is non-verbal. I have yet to come across any other child with Down Syndrome who is non-verbal.”
Interestingly enough, while her first son has this genetic condition, her second son has no physical or mental disabilities.
Despite her many challenges, Patricia is often upbeat and optimistic about life.
Her association as a member of the BCD started in 2008, when she was elected as a director on the council’s board. She also served as vice president.
From way back in the late 1990s, Patricia was playing her part within the disabled community as a member and later executive member of the Barbados Organisation of Parents of the Disabled.
“It was through Dr Sir Albert Cecil Graham, whom I would go to when attending sessions with my young son, that I became involved with disabilities at a different level,” she said.
In 1997, Patricia was diagnosed with retinitis pigmentosa, a group of genetic disorders that causes vision loss due to retinal cell degeneration, and she aligned herself with the Barbados Association of the Blind and Deaf.
The former National Insurance Scheme (NIS) employee also went on to become an executive member of the National United Society of the Blind, as well as chairman of the Sub-Committee of Blind and Visually Impaired Women – an arm of the Barbados Association for the Blind and Deaf.
Speaking about her personal struggles as the spotlight is placed this month on those living with disabilities, Patricia told Easy: “It is still a continuous adjustment, given the fact that I have this degenerative condition.
“My vision is slowly going. When I left the office where I worked for many years, there were no flowers or parting gifts. My whole outlook on life changed. It was a grieving process; just like losing a child through death or to a disability. I felt like I no longer had anything to contribute to life.
“My first step was towards my own development. I joined the Braille classes hosted by the Barbados Association for the Blind and Deaf. I also started going to various training courses and doing a lot of everything I would have done if I were still working. I even attended a regional workshop in 1998 and studied event planning and conversational Spanish.”
She took the bull by the horn on numerous occasions, like when she made the decision to study a non-governmental management course at the University of the West Indies Open Campus.
In her relatively new role as president, Patricia understands the importance of team work and has a clear vision of how the BCD can impact lives and bring about further change.
“I do not see my role as a single role – but a collective role – where I work with the team at the BCD and with persons living with disabilities.
“I have relentlessly advocated for children with disabilities. Having a child living with a disability, I have always wanted to see young people, especially in the areas of education – academia and technically – being given the chance to improve themselves.
“I want to build the camaraderie and collaborative elements between the council, various organisations, and strategic partners, to bring about a more cohesive atmosphere.
“I also want to see the strengthening of awareness between the public and the BCD.”
Patricia knows all this takes hard work and dedication and she is also keenly aware there are different dynamics attached to the various disabilities.
“In the final analysis, we are people living with a disability and we all want to see our quality of life improve,” she said.
“Yes, the Government has increased the monetary benefits of persons living with disabilities and this was a significant achievement for us. There are some projects we want to undertake as a council and most projects attract some level of finance. We want to help more people. Therefore, at the top of our list is finances. We need to have the finances to assist others. Helping adults with their personal and educational development is another matter which needs urgent attention.
“Generally, we are committed to the idea that people living with disabilities need help and we – as a council – must help them acquire the necessary skills they need so they can work and become semi-independent citizens, where they can live in their own spaces, while receiving any assistance they will need to do so.”
Essentially, Patricia works fervently each day to ensure there is no exploitation.
“Why should the disabled be at the mercy of unscrupulous persons?” she asked.
“We want to see better relationships between employers and the council and we want to sensitise employers to the benefits of having persons living with [disabilities] working for them. They usually give outstanding service.”
Twenty-five organisations fall under the umbrella of the BCD, whether as ordinary or associate members.
Outside of her role as president, Patricia, who loves music and plays the keyboard, is a founding member of the Barbados Blind Cricket Association and once played in Barbados and regionally.
She represented the BCD at the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons With Disabilities in 2010 and 2017 and sat on the Rights for the Child Committee. She is currently part of the women’s fellowship group at her church and sings in the choir, as well as with Courageous Voices – a choir of the blind.
Family means the world to Patricia and she loves to give words of encouragement to those with whom she comes into contact.
She highly commends parents caring for children living with disabilities for the yeoman work they do in keeping their families together.
“I do not want people to look at persons living with disabilities in isolation. We are not isolated beings. We belong to a family like everyone else, and so, the community must render all the help they can
to such persons.”
Patricia hopes, “through the grace of God”, that at the end of it all her own life would be an inspiration
to others.
“I serve God through my service to mankind.
My life has always been one of giving and advising people to go higher. We are all called to serve,”
she said. (CH)