Don’t look at my disability, look at my ability – Ben Theodore

By Catherine Mackson

Ben Theodore and wife Josephine Theodore are always together.

As Disability Ministers from all over the Pacific gather to meet in Port Moresby on Wednesday under the auspices of the Pacific Islands Forum, one man tells the story of his own efforts to advance the rights of people with disability in PNG

Ben Theodore from East New Britain is a former police officer with vision impairment. He lost his sight in an ambush during the Bougainville Crisis in 1989, four years after joining the PNG Royal Constabulary, when he was 23 years old.

An attempt to retain his sight in Australia was unsuccessful, so Ben returned to PNG, and continued work as a communications officer with the police department in Rabaul.

In 1992, he started advocating for people with disabilities to be respected and about the need for people to look beyond disability.

“I faced many challenges as I did not expect to be blind. This was a great transition for me as I adapted the new life of doing things without seeing. It was truly hard at first, but it did not stop me from doing what a person with sight can do,” said Ben.

Ben was alarmed by the lack of services for people with disability in PNG.

“The Government, communities and even some of my relatives would never involve me in decisions or meetings, or games – they thought I were useless and had nothing to offer, so I set out to prove them wrong,” said Ben.

With support from his beautiful wife Josephine, and six children, Ben had gone extra miles and did extra ordinary things.

Apart from his policing role, Ben uses sport as another tool to promote and protect rights of people living with disability, a concept AusAID strongly supports in PNG.

He used javelin as a sport to promote the rights of people with disability. Ben has also been heavily active in Paralympics. He represented PNG at the Sydney Olympics in 2000. In 2006 he formed the PNG Paralympics Committee and is currently Secretary General for the committee.

Ben gained greater recognition for his advocacy campaign on disability when engaging with AusAID’s disability programs. These include the Pacific Ability Sport Program, an inclusive sport program where he was trained to roll out the program in PNG.

Ben was recently involved in an AusAID funded Disability Sport consultation in Nadi and Melbourne and is a member of the PNG Assembly of Disabled Persons (PNGADP).

Last August, AusAID provided K240, 000 (approximately $120,000) to the PNG Assembly of Disabled Persons to allow the Assembly to expand their of Disabled Person’s Organisations in five selected provinces and deliver awareness training and capacity building.

The funding will also support the work started by Ben to decrease barriers and attitudes preventing people with disabilities’ full participation in society and improve health and education outcomes for men, women and children with disabilities.

In addition to that, AusAID provided funding support of K600,700 ($270,000) to the PNG Department for Community Development (DfCD) to support its efforts to improve protection and promote rights of people with disabilities and decrease barriers and attitudes preventing full participation of people with disability in decision making and planning.

AusAID through Strongim Pipol Strongim Nesen have provided AUD500 000 (K1.1m) for small, medium and large grants through for Disability-Inclusive Development. Currently there are fourteen grants for disability inclusive development set to receive funding.

As the PIF Disability Minister’s meeting winds up in Port Moresby tomorrow, all people with disability and disability service providers in PNG are fortunate that they have Ben Theodore advocating for their interests.

*Catherin Mackson is the Senior Media Officer, Public Affairs, AusAID.