There鈥檚 an old adage about how if you don鈥檛 like what you see, then try to change it.
Give credit to Estevan Diversified Services (EDS) for doing just that with the new provincial human rights book, Your Life, Your Rights. The book was launched on Wednesday afternoon at a ceremony in Regina, capping three years of collaboration involving EDS, the Estevan Comprehensive School (ECS) and the provincial government.
The old human rights book was what you would have expected: large, clunky and filled with jargon that made it difficult to understand without a lawyer. It wasn鈥檛 user or reader friendly at all.
The new book is short and concise, and it鈥檚 also filled with illustrations, courtesy of the arts students at the ECS, that accompany the rights described.
This is not only something that will be used in Estevan, but it will be used across the province.
Literacy and newcomer groups also expressed a desire to have a simpler, easier manual.
There is also a handbook to help people learn their rights.
You shouldn鈥檛 need a lawyer to have a basic understanding of your human rights. In this day and age, people have all sorts of rights, regardless of age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, nationality, income and any one of a number of other factors.
Those rights also extend to people with disabilities, be it physical or intellectual. Having a disability should not preclude somebody from seeking employment, receiving quality health-care finding a place to live or starting a family.
After all, they have to be able to understand those rights, which is why this book was needed.
In an article that appeared in Lifestyles about two years ago on this human rights book, Connie Wahlmeier, the project co-ordinator at EDS, and an individual who has dedicated many hours toYour Life, Your Rights, said 鈥淭he impact this could have on intellectually disabled person or someone without certain resources is huge.鈥�
Bringing the students on board added to the project. It gives them greater awareness, at a relatively young age, about this important issue. It helps them understand the challenges that some people are facing.
And, on a different level, it allows them to showcase their artistic abilities, and their ability to bring art to an issue, to people around the province.
Thankfully, the way in which we regard people different than us continues to evolve. The majority of people no longer look down on those who are of a different skin colour, religion, nationality or sexual orientation. Most people don鈥檛 mock those with disabilities.
It is the people who judge others on the above-mentioned traits and beliefs who are criticized, mocked and scorned.
Thank you, EDS and ECS, for making life a little simpler for so many people in the province.聽
