January 5, 2016
Two minutes …
Sometimes even less.
This is usually how long it takes Nathalie N’guessen to get from her office on the lower floor to Lab221 on the upper floor, where she teaches French. In the grand scheme of things, it really does not count for much. However, for Nathalie, it makes a huge difference.
She is physically challenged; and is largely dependent on a wheelchair for mobility.
“Before coming to Ashesi, I kept telling myself that there was no way a place in the middle of nowhere would be accessible,” said Nathalie. “However, when I arrived at Ashesi I was just amazed to see how the place has been designed to be 100% wheelchair-accessible and handicap friendly.”
Nathalie’s expectations of poor accessibility at Ashesi were however, not unwarranted. In Ghana, accessibility for the physically challenged still remains a distant hope. While there is legislation for buildings in Ghana to be disable-friendly, progress is slow and most buildings remain inaccessible to the disabled.
In the design of Ashesi’s campus though, special attention was paid into ensuring that the campus is disable-friendly. Not only are there accessible bathrooms and ramps, but also they are seamlessly incorporated into the overall layout of the campus.
“At Ashesi, we try to ensure we do not discriminate, and this includes the way we set up our campus,” said Casper Annie, Director of Logistics and Facilities. “So we worked with the architects on the campus’ design to make sure it is accessible.”
For final year student, Ali Seidu who relies on crutches to get from place to place, the alternatives come in very handy. “I am able to use both the ramp and the staircase,” he said. “Ashesi is different from most places I have been to in Ghana; navigating the campus is comfortable, where I can choose between the staircase and the ramp. Though sometimes when it rains, it gets slippery, and I have to be extra careful. However, the terrazzo on the ramps and staircases helps improve traction.”
With the growing community, Ashesi is thinking of more ways to improve accessibility. “The doors to some of the washrooms are quite heavy, so we are thinking about using lighter material for the doors or sensor-operated doors to make them easier to access. We also have to add more accessible bathrooms,” said Casper.
“The only improvement which was done was to make a special parking place for a physically challenged person,” added Nathalie. “And I love that!”
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