Let's think more intentionally about physical accessibility

Visually impaired children on walkways fitted with metal grills to enable them to locate classes and toilet facilities at Garissa Primary School. [File, Standard]

My friend has a physical disability. She recently slipped in her hotel room and fractured her leg. She told me this was not the first time she was falling in highly inaccessible environments. She is not the only one. Others have developed phobias about falling. This is because they have fallen and ended up developing further disabilities.

We recently toured a recreation facility in Naivasha and one of the buildings that we used to access boat rides had a steep step at the entrance. As a result, we had to use a portable ramp to support colleagues with physical disabilities to manoeuvre the step. A few colleagues, however, could not make it past the steep step. This was a classic example of how people with disabilities are excluded from different spaces, whether by accident or by design.