Follow Us on Google
From Aloysius Madu, Enugu
December 3 was International Day of Persons Living with Disabilities. In Enugu State, physically challenged persons joined their colleagues all over the world to mark the day at Ngwo Park, Enugu.
In the morning of that day, the physically challenged persons under the aegis of Initiative for Eradication of Poverty and Empowerment of the Disabled (IFEPED) gathered at the park to review the activities of their members in the South East zone.
The group through its President, Mr. Victor Clifford Ugwu, called on the South East governors to address the plight of persons living with disabilities within the geo-political zone.
They specifically appealed to the governors to give scholarship to their members who were still in school as a way of promoting their desire to become active participants in state and national development.
They, therefore, directed their members who are students to write letters to the various ministries of education in their states and copy IFEPED for proper documentation and identification.
The members also appealed to the South East governors to avail them the opportunity to key into the government poverty alleviation programmes and policies as part of their efforts to enhance their economic well-being.
They also appealed to politicians within the zone to promote sincere efforts at addressing the plight of the people living with disabilities in the zone.
Vice Chancellor, Godfrey Okoye University, and Chairman of the occasion, Rev. (Prof.) Christian Anieke, who was represented by Mr. Fred Ozoilo, emphasised that no one in the society is termed disabled, saying that there are only physically challenged persons.
According to Ozoilo, the university would introduce a scholarship trust fund in February next year as a way of partnering with IFEPED to ensure that the physically challenged are educated and empowered at tertiary level.
He also advised them not to feel abandoned because they were physically challenged.
Also speaking, the Archbishop of the Presbyterian Church, Abakaliki, Arch Bishop Godwill Omoke, who was represented by Rev. Marvellous Iheme Okwara, called on persons living with disabilities not to lose hope in God and to always be grateful to God for keeping them alive.
“The fact that you are alive is enough reason to be thankful to God, there are many wealthy and able-bodied people who have died, you are not better than them,” he said as he called on the general public to partner with IFEPED.
Okwara also appealed to the South East governors, saying that “morality behooves on the government to help the physically challenged as those who are in authority are God’s representatives on earth”.
He encouraged the physically challenged; urging them to never to relent in seeking their rights until they are remembered the same way God used David to remember Mephibosheth in the Bible.
He also reminded them that togetherness was the only factor that could sustain the organization.
In an interview with Oriental News, Mrs Chinyere Obodo, who is a member of IFEPED, recounted an ugly experience their organization encountered when they protested in Imo State.
“When we protested in Imo State last year over maltreatment we received from the government, instead of listening to our plight and addressing the issue, we were chased with tear gas and touts were hired to throw stones and bottles at us. We will never give up no matter what because we believe God is our strength,” she said.
She also called on the government and the general public to desist from maltreating physically challenged persons, saying that it is a sin against humanity and God.
The members also commended the guests, pointing out that their encouragement has helped them to appreciate themselves as physically challenged persons with potentials to pursue socio-economic programmes that could enhance their economic fortune and empowerment.
