By Maurice Okafor.
Restoring hope to live for people with special needs and providing them opportunities to reintegrate among other segments of the society is a norm or government policy that have been over flogged in Nigeria and many other third world countries but derailed by poor implementation by the concerned government agencies etc. The ugly consequence of the government lack lustre in this direction is the avalanche of disabled persons turned beggars across many cities and townships in Nigeria.
However, a Non Governmental Organization[NGO] known as Bina Foundation,based in Enugu,South East Nigeria, is working hard to reverse the ugly trend of abandoning people with special needs to suffer their fate by providing equipment through many of them can acquire skills and at the long run,will be able fend for themselves in the society.
The various departments run by the NGO include braille department where the Visually impaired lean how to read and write,the Computer literacy section which also accommodates the blind,the tailoring/textile department,Hair dressing/Salon section,Cosmetics/disinfectant department,the Radio, Television and phone repair department, the Music lab department which has churned out professional singers,guitarists,band/drummers, key keyboardists etc as a completed band made of both the blind, the lame among others, as music band of the NGO.
Both the deaf, the mute,Visually impaired persons, the lame among others are assisted and guided to engage in one of the various departments run by the NGO freely. One unique feature of Bina Foundation when compared with other NGO’s and government agencies with similar initiatives is that feeding and transportation is offered free of charge to the trainees admitted at the beginning of every academic/training session of the foundation. At graduation,Some of the trainees who are of poor background are also assisted financially to establish their own business.
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Beyond rectories, the organization boasts to have trained over one hundred and fifty thousand [150,000] people with special needs, since it was established in 2010
The Founder of Bina Foundation,Pharmacist Lady Ifeoma Atuegwu, in her speech at the special occasion of the 2022 orientation programme of new intakes reiterated that the major objective of the foundation is to help people with special needs learn one trade or another that will make them to be productive.
Her words,;Bina Foundation for People with Special needs is a non profit organization which offers life changing progrrammes for people with disabilities in Nigeria, through well structured rehabilitation,schemes that build up self confidence,self respect and social inclusion,personal development in education, vocational skills, and disability sports including blind football’
;Our objective is to make people with special needs financially independent and functionally relevant in the society. We aim to achieve this by offering free medical and charitable services as well as free skills acquisition training in our training centers,in our Resource and Recreational center for the blind and visually impaired, and in our disability Sports Academy’.
‘For many years now,our core curriculum have been basic computer literacy for the blind,braille reading and writing,Independent living skills,Catering and fast foods,Beads and wire works,Shoe and bag making,Cosmetology and paint making,Hairdressing,Beauty and barbing salon,Tailoring/Fashion designing,GSM phone repairs,Sign language class for the deaf and mute,and music band training’
;Other courses offered include make-up face prefabrication,head scarfing,water proof making,Hat/Cap making,We have expanded courses in our catering department to include local delicacies’.
Many of the trainees on graduation are re engaged to be trainers of new trainees.Mr Desmond Okoye with challenges on his legs even though anchored on a wheel chair, takes new trainees on processes of shoe and bag making,Mr Obiegue Jehoshaphat also with challenges on his legs currently anchors new trainees on how to repair Radio,Television and phones. The likes of Barrister Miss Chinelo Ozoude and Miss Chikaodili Okafor [both blind] through the braille training they acquired at Bina foundation has acquired their first degree in law and political science in the university,at the same pace with their able bodied class mates.
Bina Foundation have carved the niche of initiating blind football in Nigeria. The organization is the brain box behind the assemblage of Nigeria’s national male and female blind teams.
The National blind football teams courtesy of Bina foundation participated in the 2019 IBSA competition which was kicked off at Nnamdi Azikiwe stadium by former Super Eagles Coach,Gernet Rohr. The team also featured in the blind football competition in France. It is currently rehearsing to attend the blind football competition,holding in Morocco,North Africa next month.
According to the President of Bina foundation,Lady Ifeoma Atuegwu, the foundation
is in dire need of sponsors to help it take the national blind teams[male and female categories] groomed by Bina foundation to the Morocco blind football tournament.
She extolled the efforts of the Chairman,Board of Trustees of Bina Foundation,Sir Chris Atuegwu,for having solely sponsored all the activities of the foundation. But pleaded for additional sponsorship from the federal ministry of sports, the various state ministry of sports,other government agencies, the private sector and every well spirited individual to partner with her NGO in packaging the Morocco blind football competition.
