A Niger Delta based Non-Governmental Organisation, “D-Ability Initiative”, has disclosed plans to setup an industrial hub for the deaf and other persons with disabilities in the state.
Chief Executive Officer of the Organisation, Dr.Kingdom Nwanyanwu, disclosed this in an interview with newsmen during the graduation ceremony of 30 deaf women in fashion designing.
The training was sponsored by the organisation with support from the European Union through the Agent For Citizen Diven Transformation.
Nwanyanwu said the hub will enable the trainees and other members of the deaf community, including other persons with disabilities, to contribute to the growth and development of the society.
“We want to monitor what they are doing. Afterward, we will setup a hub. The hub will allow them to work and also creat a space to train other people subsequently. In time, it may become an institute for persons with disabilities”, he said.
He said his organisation cannot achieve this alone considering the financial implication, adding that it needs the support of both the State and Federal Goverments, as well as public spirited individuals.
Nwanyanwu also described the deaf as the most vulnerable and marginalised group in the persons with disabilities community, stressing that was why most people and organisations avoid them.
“We realised that in the midst of persons with disabilities, the deaf are the most marginalized.
“That was why when the European Union through the Agent for Citizen Driven Transformation came ,our organisation was selected among organisations they are going to partner with’.
He said his decision to train deaf women was to enable them to live responsible lives.
“They trained us and asked us to write a proposal on any thing we feel is important to us and we choosed the deaf women so that we can empower them.
”The mission of the organisation is to empower, support and build the capacities of persons with disabilities so that they can live meaningful lives and succeed as others are doing,” he said.
Also some of the trainees who spoke through an interpreter said they were overwhelmed with joy as they can now live meaningfully without being a burden to any one.
Owners of the fashion homes also described the behaviours of the trainees as wonderful.