WEBVTT Kind: captions Language: en 00:00:00.857 --> 00:00:02.857 [soft synthesizer music] 00:00:29.170 --> 00:00:31.905 [speaking in Samoan]: I feel very happy that the government 00:00:31.905 --> 00:00:33.969 has finally answered our prayers 00:00:33.969 --> 00:00:37.938 because of the advocacy work that NOLA and its partners 00:00:37.938 --> 00:00:39.937 have been doing throughout the years. 00:00:41.846 --> 00:00:44.471 [speaking in Samoan]: Before we received this financial assistance, 00:00:44.471 --> 00:00:46.665 it was always a need for us. 00:00:46.829 --> 00:00:51.336 I believe that this type of assistance will be able to help 00:00:51.710 --> 00:00:54.572 those of us with disabilities who need help. 00:00:55.260 --> 00:00:57.692 [man giving instructions in Samoan] 00:00:58.602 --> 00:01:02.689 Well, very recently we've been having  conversations with members 00:01:02.689 --> 00:01:07.367 where they stated that the disability allowance improves 00:01:07.367 --> 00:01:12.727 their recognition as equal contributors of their families. 00:01:22.160 --> 00:01:25.801 This benefit is assisting  persons with disabilities to help   00:01:25.831 --> 00:01:28.857 them when they go to the hospital to pay the doctor 00:01:36.031 --> 00:01:38.975 and also pay for their medicines and treatments. 00:01:41.823 --> 00:01:47.204 Persons with disabilities also  participate in the village and the church,   00:01:47.204 --> 00:01:52.291 and this assistance will help them to contribute towards church and village activities. 00:01:59.513 --> 00:02:02.808 This financial assistance is also very important 00:02:02.808 --> 00:02:07.663 because it also helps persons with disabilities to take care of their children. 00:02:22.875 --> 00:02:29.708 As for now, we have started the roll out of the 00:02:29.784 --> 00:02:33.655 disability allowance of 100 Tala per month 00:02:33.655 --> 00:02:37.408 to approximately 3,000 members with disabilities, 00:02:37.408 --> 00:02:41.249 as for the disability registry to date. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:03.102 The cash allowance is not enough 00:03:03.102 --> 00:03:08.346 to pay for the additional cost associated with the disability of individuals, 00:03:08.346 --> 00:03:10.885 especially those with high support needs. 00:03:15.000 --> 00:03:20.329 I would like to put forward a  recommendation to people in power 00:03:20.360 --> 00:03:25.322 to increase the benefit because the cost of living is increasing 00:03:31.905 --> 00:03:33.905 [white cane clicking into place] 00:03:34.947 --> 00:03:42.097 and there needs to be a consideration for caregivers of persons with disabilities. 00:03:47.092 --> 00:03:49.092 [woman speaking in Samoan] 00:03:51.079 --> 00:03:57.005 It would be good if we were able to travel on the ferry for free 00:03:57.005 --> 00:04:03.538 like our senior citizens, who are  covered under the elderly pension scheme. 00:04:14.409 --> 00:04:19.849 When we started the program, there has not been any legal framework 00:04:19.849 --> 00:04:23.412 to control how the program has to be done. 00:04:23.621 --> 00:04:27.032 So at this point, we are discussing 00:04:27.032 --> 00:04:32.343 having a provision under the Samoa National Provident Fund, 00:04:32.343 --> 00:04:35.910 who also looks after the elderly pension, 00:04:35.910 --> 00:04:42.338 to have a similar guideline for the disability allowance scheme, 00:04:42.338 --> 00:04:46.300 and with the hope that having this provision in place, 00:04:46.300 --> 00:04:52.599 the scope of the disability allowance will then expand 00:04:52.661 --> 00:04:57.123 to include other things, such as  the inter-island travel, 00:04:57.123 --> 00:05:01.005 as well as the assistive devices, 00:05:01.067 --> 00:05:10.302 as well as free medications, as  the elderly benefit scheme has. 00:05:11.305 --> 00:05:13.305 [upbeat piano music] 00:05:25.337 --> 00:05:29.605 It is very important to have some form of legislation 00:05:29.605 --> 00:05:33.850 that will guide the implementation of the benefit scheme, 00:05:33.850 --> 00:05:39.982 which will act as a safeguard in case of any challenges that may arise in the future. 00:05:55.863 --> 00:05:57.863 [music fades]