Not short of something to say: August 2015

Contact details

As well as being a freelance writer I am also a qualified counsellor and I work for a low cost counselling service in Exeter and for the NHS Gender Clinic also in Exeter.

Simultaneously, I work as a Disability Member of the First Tier Tribunal, Social Entitlement Chamber sitting on disability benefit tribunals on an ad hoc basis.

As a writer I specialise in writing about disability and health.

My articles have been published in the Guardian, Times, OUCH! [BBC disability website], Disability Now, Broadcast, Lifestyle [Motability magazine], The Practising Midwife, 'Junior, Pregnancy & Baby', Writers' News, Able, Getting There [Transport for London magazine], Junior, Community Care, DPPi [Disability, Pregnancy & Parenthood International]. I have also had articles commissioned by Daily Mail.

For more information about me and for examples of my writing please see below.

If you would like me to write an article for your publication, about any aspect of disability, please do get in touch:

emma@emmabowler.co.uk

Tuesday, August 11, 2015

World's Worst Place to be Disabled - BBC 3 programme

Last night I watched a very harrowing documentary made by Sophie Morgan a disabled woman I interviewed a while ago when she was a contestant on a disabled modelling programme.

The programme 'The World's Worst Place to be Disabled' is about the treatment of disabled people in Ghana showing how disabled adults are kept hidden inside, chained up, and subjected to religious 'healing' by some very hideous individuals. That is if they are not poisoned as children by fetish priests who are paid for doing this...

On the happier side the programme featured an amazing man, himself disabled, who is fundraising for a school for disabled children. On his fundraising page supporter wall he welcomes donations for just $5 - that's about £3...

Have a look at the work he is doing:

Who is Ark?



				Who is Ark? Who is Ark? Barimah Antwi, better known as Mr. Ark, is a native of Ghana. He lives in a simple home in the town of Maase, Offinso. Every day, he walks

				View on www.arksfoundation.org	Preview by Yahoo

If you can bear to watch the documentary it will be on BBC iPlayer for 17 more days from the date of this post.

If you can't bear to watch all of it then if you start it at 45mins in you'll see some more positive good bits including an interview with a 17 year old called Charles who I just wanted to scoop up and bring to the UK so he can fulfil his dream:

The World's Worst Place to Be Disabled?



				The World's Worst Place to Be Disabled? Sophie Morgan visits Ghana to uncover the reality of many disabled people who live there.

				View on www.bbc.co.uk	Preview by Yahoo

If you are reading this post after the 17 days have lapsed you can see Charle's in a video on the Ark's Foundation website:

http://www.arksfoundation.org/meet-the-locals.html

On becoming a writer

After over 10 years as a BBC TV programme maker working on disability, documentary, entertainment and children's programmes I left to have 2 children.

Having decided that the full on lifestyle of programme making and being a parent wasn't for me I decided to utilise the skills, experience and knowledge gleaned from my BBC career to became a freelance writer.

Because of my personal experience of disability I chose to specialise by writing about all aspects of disability – from parenting to sport, clothes shopping to legislation, what’s in the news to specific aspects of particular impairments.

All too often the media portrayal of disabled people and disability issues doesn’t quite hit the mark, the tone is off, the language is wrong; the overall effect leaves the public none the wiser.

As a disabled writer my aim is to be positive, informative and accurate, that doesn’t have to mean dry and boring – a bit of humour can go a long way!