The Wife of the Ogun State governor, Mrs Bamidele Abiodun, says her Office is committed to building of the capacity, visibility and knowledge of youth with disabilities to enable them to be self-reliant and productive.
Mrs. Abiodun stated this in Abeokuta on Monday at the opening of a three-day capacity building program organised by her office in conjunction with Jesse’s Place Foundation(JPF), a United Kingdom based multi -disciplinary team of Special Needs Professionals.tagged “The holistic care of children and youths with special needs (A multidisciplinary approach)”
“As a champion of the Sustainable Development Goals, I am committed to the realization of the 2030 Agenda to ensure that we leave no one behind. By aligning our vision for special education with the global goals and taking advantage of the tremendous progress that has been made internationally through technology, I do believe that we are well underway to meeting our targets. It will take a lot of hard work and dedication“ She said
The First Lady added that apart from the several other special needs professionals working in other sectors, specifically health and social welfare. The program has therefore taken into consideration life beyond the school. The more the larger society becomes sensitive to the requirements of people with special needs, the better integrated they will be in towns and cities, where they can live as productive citizens.
Earlier in her welcome address, Dr. Tomi Coker, Commissioner for health said, “the main objective and goal of this event was to collectively support and raise sustainable awareness on the critical role that persons with disabilities plays in the day to day activities and development of the world’’.
Dr. Coker revealed that the Prince Dapo Abiodun-led administration has embarked on the rehabilitation of Primary health-centres across all the 236 wards in the State.
In her contribution, the deputy governor of the state, Engr. Noimot Salako-Oyedele advised the beneficiaries of the program to make ample use of the opportunity and reassured them of Government’s continued support and inclusion.
She revealed that the Abiodun-led administration has ordered for hearing test kits to all primary schools in the state.
In her contribution, ”Understanding or redefining disability in Nigeria, the keynote speaker, Mrs. Sola Ogunde, emphasized that disability was not the feature of a person, saying, ‘’in as much as our health impairment could not prevent us from participating in the community’s activities, then, the issue of disabilities should not prevent the disabled from being part of communities’ activities’’.
She said everyone living with disabilities have hidden talents and should have equal rights with those without disabilities, emphasizing the need to nurture the children with disabilities with unconditional love, as “the future is accessible but these people must have hope of a better future for this to be possible”
