Agagu wife to Physically challenged: Don’t sell your equipment

  

Mrs. Olufunke Agagu

The Wife to the former Governor Ondo State, Mrs. Olufunke Agagu has expressed concerned over the rates at which physical challenged people sell their empowerment tools for instant money gains.

Mrs. Agagu stated this at the Handicapped Education Foundation (HANDEF) 10th empowerment programme held in Akure, the State Capital.

She noted that rather than establishing themselves after receiving the equipment free of charge, some of them preferred to sell the goods and later return to the street as beggars.

In the event this year, the Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), owned by the former first lady graduated 17 disables trained in various fields.

The NGO, which had been existing for the past 12 years ago, trained the less-priviledged in knitting, ICT and bead making.

The graduands were also empowered with various equipment that would enable them establish themselves.

Agagu urged parents of the disables to co-operate with the foundation in order to ensure that the beneficiaries do not sell their tools again.

She recalled that since 2008 till date, the foundation has graduated 56 people in ICT, 29 in fashion designing, hat  making, knitting and bead making and also given tools of their trades to free of charge.

The former first lady said “I am proud to say that some of our products even own two or three cafes.

“However, it has come to our knowledge that some of our graduates sell their tools of empowerment programmes.

“Please note that the essence of training and empowering you is for you to have a means of livelihood so that you can be self sufficient ultimately not the immediate monetary gains. We plead with parents to co-operate with us in this regard.

“HANDEF has continue to partner with various organisation’s locally and internationally to bring awareness to the plight of people with disability.we encourage them to be their own men and women by organizing seminars and workshops on different aspect of life from health issues to business and entrepreneurship”.

She also lamented over the poor usage of the Library constructed in the HANDEF Centre, saying the foundation is making effort to partner with some tertiary institutions in the south west to see how it can be reverse.

Agagu, however  people with different disabilities are part and parcel of our society and they deserve recognition and pride of place not pity or discrimination.