Hello Local Guides,
As a part of advocacy,
#OneAccessibility, and team member of the campaign, we always try to find out and add Accessibile to Google maps, and help thousands of people indirectly, who are searching for the place where they can access easily. Specially those people who use wheelchairs or the people who have different abilities.
Wheel Chairs Accessibility Awareness Meetup :
As I mentioned in first Part of this post that Accompanying me were my friends Mr Arif, Mr Christopher, Mr Rauf, Sufiyan, Iqbal, Miss Ruqqaiya & Miss Nabila (DarUlSukun staff) who have massive talent and abilities from Dar Ul Sukun Karachi (Rehabilitation center)discussed several times to do something different, which can motivate other people to care for Accessibility and for clean environment.
Accessibility Walk :
After a great Accessible Beach Awareness meetup, we started our travel again for last but not least destination.
Then again it was time for Accessibility Awareness Walk in its TRUE meaning, which I never experienced, because the people I was with, knew the importance of this, better than anyone of us could.
Boat basin Food Street is a one of the biggest food street of Karachi, where you can get any type of food, from Continental to Desi Food, and from hi-fi restaurants to food stalls.
We started walking from the food street, and then first we decided to Eat Nihari at famous Nihari Restaurant of Boat bassin food street. We reached there with four people on wheel chairs.
We knew that restaurant’s entrance pathway was accessibility unfriendly, but we just wanted to aware the management about this issue, as it could’ve been anyone, even their family members, who could need accessibility ramps.
The restaurant was on first floor, but there were no Accessible lift, nor any Accessible Ramp for wheel chairs, there we talked to manager, and asked them how we can access to his restaurant if there is no way to reach there. I think this is first time for him to face such situation when Thier customers are there but cannot access to sitting area of the restaurant. He apologized and said he can serve down stairs on walking way, but we politely declined his request, as again, the purpose was to educate the oblivioun out of this issue. Not just manager, but many people there were watching what is happening there.
We went to many other restaurants, even a famous multinational Fries chain had the same situation there.
This time reminds me my own story, when my father crave for something but we couldn’t fullfil his wish because of unavailability of Accessible way to the restaurant, but that time I was not a local guide, and I did not even know that this issue existed, as my thinking capability did not extend to think about this issue.
However, now as I local guide I have strength to talk, courage to creating awareness .
Thank you Local Guides Program and special thanks to Local Guides Connect, who gave me the platform to enlighten the uneducated people like me. The oblivion about this issue had never been seen as a bad thing, but what made it bad was the awareness present in the people but not enough to do anything about it.
So after this walk, we realized that we get some success, because people were watching us, and some asked what is Local Guides Pakistan (my t-shirt logo) but mostly people appreciate my brave friends, who were with me and creating awareness there.
As my promise I give them treat at Pizza hut, where we get Wheelchairs Accessibile Ramp, Accessibile seatings and Accessibile washroom.
So the trip ended with happiness of great hangout and delicious pizza train by Pizza hut at Boat Bassin Clifton.
Here I want to mention my fellow team members and great local guides , by them I learn alot about Accessibility awareness specially respectable #oneAccessibility Alliance
Members
@EmekaUlor @Jesi
@PennyChristie , @JaneBurunina and my friend @lynneannec . Thank you.
You can check more happy moments of this meet up in this Photo Album.
