7,000 people in Bulgaria are denied the right to have a job, get married, or make decisions about their lives - simply because they have a disability.
At Ability Day 2018 in Sofia, Bulgaria, Lumos self-advocate Veliko told us why the voices of people with disabilities like him must be heard.
Read Veliko's full interview below.
Why did you decide to make the step ladder?
Because last year we had Ability Fest, and they took a picture of me at my job, next to my machine.
This made me want me to show what I can do, live [at Ability Day 2018].
Some people believe that children with disabilities are not able at all, but they are.
Why is it important to listen to the opinions of people with disabilities?
Because they can give fresh and new ideas, newer that the ideas of the others, who just repeat things if they can’t invent new things…
And they [children with disabilities] are sometimes more capable than other people.
So, no matter where children with disabilities live, whether in a Small Group Home or not, they can do many things.
How long you have been working with Lumos?
For six years. Since 2012.