The Tribune

By JEFFARAH GIBSON

Tribune Features Writer

jgibson@tribunemedia.net

To do something as simple as get on a jitney, Kayleisha Rolle has to manoeuvre out of her wheelchair, sit on the steps of the bus, her back facing the door, pull herself up the steps with the support of her arms, and then hop to a vacant seat.

"Some people on the bus are kind enough to help me by folding up my wheelchair," she said.

The 29-year-old amputee has become so adept at the process that getting on a bus takes her less than a minute. However, she wasn't always as efficient when dealing with public transportation, Kayleisha told Tribune Woman.

"It would take extremely long before. Although you are not supposed to discriminate against disabled people, some bus drivers would just pass me by. Their thing is that it takes some disabled people much longer to get on bus, so they feel if they are waiting on someone like me to get on a bus they are losing money."

The daily struggles of the disabled are often overlooked here in the Bahamas. But Kayleisha hopes that sharing her story will inspire more sensitivity and create greater awareness for a community of people who are seriously disadvantaged.

"Some people just do not care. They are not sensitive to people like me. There are numerous occasions when I would be wheeling myself down the street - a street that already doesn't have any sidewalks, which is most of the streets in Nassau - and as I am making my way people will blow me off the road or row at me and tell me 'get on the side'. I am already up against a lot, and then people have the heart to blow at me and tell me get on the side. That's just disgusting to me," she said.

Kayleisha was diagnosed with bone cancer in her right leg in 1993. Doctors strongly recommended her parents to have the limb amputated or potentially risk their daughter's life.

"Only having one leg from the fourth grade was a struggle. I had to deal with the students teasing me and calling me all sorts of names, so it was rough," she recalled.

Among the obvious physical challenges Kayleisha faces, like moving around, taking off her clothes, she also has to deal with her inability to find gainful employment.

Since graduating C V Bethel Senior High School in 2006, Kayleisha has had only one job.

"I only had the opportunity to have one job at Solomon's Mines, and that for a year. I thank them for the opportunity. I did so many things like packing items, liaising with the cruise ships, and handling the jewellery and inventory," she said.

Ever since completing a certification at the Bahamas Technical & Vocational Institute in office assistance, Kayleisha has been looking for a new job.

She is one among 19,965 unemployed Bahamians in New Providence, 12,085 of which are women, according to data by the Department of Statistics compiled in December 2016.

Kayleisha said she has been in search of a job that fits her skill set and can accommodate her disability. And while she is not certain whether or not her disability is the reason she has not received any job offers, she knows that she is already limited in what she can do and where she can work when compared to other Bahamians seeking employment.

"I want to do anything having to do with clerical work. But what is limiting is that while many business may be handicapped friendly on the outside, they are not handicapped friendly on the inside. For example, some places may have a wheelchair ramp on the outside and their doors may be big enough for a person in a wheelchair to get in and out, but their work stations may not have enough space for a wheelchair to move around. Or they may not have the bathroom facilities to accommodate a wheelchair-bound person," she said.

"I know some people who make the decision to get a smaller wheelchair so they can fit through certain doors. But sitting in small wheelchair when you need a big one is very uncomfortable and can make a person cripple."

In July 2014, the Persons with Disabilities-Equal Opportunities Bill was passed in Parliament, which made the Bahamas the second country in the region to write into law the protection of the disabled.

The Bill's passing affected more than 10,000 disabled persons in the country.

According to the law, no one shall deny a person with a disability equal access to opportunities for suitable employment. Additionally, building owners were given two years to modify their facilities and six months to make changes to parking lots.

The law also highlighted the establishment of a national commission for the disabled capable of suing and being sued, acquiring, holding and disposing of movable and immovable property.

"I hope to see some of these changes made," said Kayleisha of the law.

But despite the challenges she faces every day, she remains optimistic for brighter future.

"There are a lot of things that could be better, but I am still grateful. I am thankful to Social Services for all the help that they have given me. I know that things will work out for me and I will soon find work. I am not stopping," she said.

Kayleisha also hopes to pursue legal studies in disabled law to advocate for those disadvantaged just like her.