The Customer Service Officer: Undoing the Disability Stigma
Cephas Torkornoo works for a financial services company in Ghana and is visually impaired. He won a Chevening scholarship to study for an MA in Corporate Social Responsibility at London Metropolitan University in 2007. As a result of his experience of living and studying in the UK, Cephas has gained new confidence in his everyday life and is putting together plans for a PhD on disability issues in Ghana.
The Chevening Scholarship
‘I currently work as a customer service officer for UT Financial Services Limited in Ghana. The company I work for is highly committed to Corporate Social Responsibility, so I started looking for a suitable Masters course in the UK. If you are disabled in Ghana, it is difficult to get local funding for further studies. I found a course in the subject at London Metropolitan University, applied for a Chevening scholarship and was accepted to the programme.
'My perception of visual impairment has changed'
The UK as a Life-Transforming Experience
In Ghana, I used to depend on people to do things for me, but Sharon, my British Council welfare officer, encouraged me to learn to do things on my own, and I have. My perception of visual impairment has changed. There is too much stigma around it. If you are visually impaired, people think that you are not able to do things on your own, but you can. In Ghana I didn’t know how to use the internet well, but when I came to the UK, I was given the right equipment and now I can. At home I used to be driven everywhere, but in London I take public transport and use a stick, which I never did in Ghana, because I was too shy.
Solutions to Problems
I really learnt the power of positive thinking during my stay in the UK. I am now making plans to research into “Managing Diversity in an Organisation”, especially the area of disability issues in Ghana. With this, I intend to offer solutions to problems concerning persons with disability and their right of access to employment and education.’
Read more First Hand stories here.
