





THE ascension of Senator Floyd Morris to presidency of the Senate yesterday raised a flag of hope for members of the disabled community that he would further champion their cause.







Senator Morris made history in 1998 by becoming the first blind person to be appointed to the Upper House and repeated the feat yesterday when he took his place as the first-ever visually impaired person to head the Senate.







Several disabled students from various schools across the island were on hand to witness the moment.







Head of the Integrated Department at the Salvation Army School for the Blind, Michelle Golding Hylton, who was chaperone for several integrated students — disabled children who have passed their Grade Six Achievement Test and are integrated with the regular high school students — witnessed the installation yesterday and said she was impressed with the move.







"It will be an opportunity to show persons who are disabled that they, too, can be in a superior position," Golding Hylton told the Jamaica Observer.







In the meantime, she expressed hope that the National Disabilities Act, which has been in gestation for more than six years, will be passed into law.



"What I would hope also is that (when it becomes law) the (reservation of at least) 10 per cent (of spaces for disabled persons) that the government has promised over the years in the National Disabilities policy will now (be enforced so) that persons who are visually impaired and physically challenged will become employed," she said.







Pointing to the students, she said "some of them have five, six and eight CXC subjects but unfortunately, a number of them will not get employment. We have a number at the university and we hope that through this move they will be employed both in the public and private sector," she noted further.







The legislation, which aims to protect the rights of the disabled community, has been in the works since the tabling of a national policy for persons with disabilities in 2000, under a previous People's National Party (PNP) Administration. That policy was debated in the Senate in January 2001, and in the House of Representatives in November 2005. In 2006, drafting instructions were issued to the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Council.







Yesterday, Ayoki Sargeant, a blind sixth former of the Queen’s High School in Kingston, was elated for more than one reason.







"It is a great success and I am happy to know he is one of those persons, like me, who is in leadership. I am very happy and he is inspirational and he is one of those persons who help me aspire to greatness. I have always heard of him, from about the age of 13, and I listen to his talk show," she told the Observer.







Blind second-year student at the University of the West Indies Alister McLean also has hopes pinned on Morris.







"I think what happens today is very historical, seeing that he is the first visually impaired senator to be elevated as president, in fact he is the first visually impaired senator as well," he said.







"I think what this will do is open the door for more persons in the disabled community to get promotion and this will serve as positive publicity for us to be employed, especially in the private sector, because currently most of us who are employed are employed in the public sector," he added.







"I hope those in the private sector who witnessed this today will feel motivated and encouraged by all of this. I think the future looks good for those of us who are disabled," said the 21-yearold, who is majoring in public sector management.







President of the Jamaican Union for Seventh-day Adventists Pastor Everett Brown also had high commendations for Morris, who is a member of that denomination.







"I would like to emphasise the fact that we are proud of his appointment as president of the Senate. We are sure that his commitment to his Christian ideals, coupled with his love for the Jamaican people and his impeccable character, will enable him to serve the Senate with distinction," Brown told the Observer.