From Maurice Okafor,Enugu
Amidst the biting economic hardships in Nigeria and the hazardous economic realities occasioned by the COVID-19 global pandemic, an Enugu based but internationally recognized Non- Governmental Organization (NGO),Bina Foundation has sticked to it’s annual tradition of organising and hosting disabled people to Christmas party during which commodity goods like bags of rice and cash gifts are shared to students of the Foundation and other persons with special needs, who joined in the end of year get together.
Bina Foundation ads an NGO, in the past decade has been upfront in training People with special needs to acquire special skills so they can be integrated in the society and fend for themselves. Instead of resorting to begging for alms and support in the streets.
The Foundation which is solely sponsored by Pharmacists Sir Chris Atuegwu, the Managing Director of Michellle Laboratories and his wife,Lady Pharmacist Ifeoma Atuegwu, offers free training, meals and free transport to People with special needs in the various sections as Computer literary, Bead making,Tailoring,Bakery, Weaving, Fashion designing and Music. Precisely,the organization owns a musical band played by a combination of both the blind and the lame,etc.
The height of the humanitarian services of Bina Foundation to People with Special Needs is that they offer free medical services to enrolled inmates of the organization, in addition to the fact that their training and transportation to the Training ground located at Thinkers Corner axis of Enugu state are free.
Addeded to the largesse of the inmates are free gifts of bags of rice,other commodity goods and cash at various seasons like the celebration of Christmas.
Speaking at the occasion of the 2021 Christmas party for the students,the President/Founder of the organization, Lady Ifeoma Atuegwu, urged the students to thrive hard to key into any of the sporting activities, sponsored by the Foundation as a measure of giving them a sense of belonging in the society.
It could be recalled that Bina Foundation is the NGO that produced the Nigeria’s Blind National football teams for both the male and female blind teams, that participated in the African edition of Japan World cup blind football competition, held in Enugu,last two years.
Most of the students including those who have passed out from Bina Foundation and are self engaged and those continuing their education in higher institutions of learning, expressed how Bina Foundation restored their hopes of living.
Miss Odoh Constance Ukamaka, a 300 level Sociology/Anthropology student of Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) disclosed that the free Computer literacy programme she studied at Bina Foundation inspired her to take Jamb examination which she passed successfully to have gained admission into ESUT,stating she is working very hard to accomplish and compete with able bodied students.
