Plans have been concluded by The Irede Foundation (TIF) to embark on its yearly walk to fight discrimination against children with disabilities.
The Executive Director, Crystal Chigbu, during a press conference, yesterday, said the walk would help fight discrimination, create awareness and also sensitise the public to reduce the stigma associated with limb loss.
She said the move was in line with commemorating the global limb loss awareness month and restating TIF’s commitment to reducing societal stigmatisation.
According to her, the organisation will embark on its yearly advocacy march, themed ‘Out on a Limb’, on Saturday, April 9, while the walk, themed ‘The Iredians’, would hold simultaneously at 50 locations across the world.
Chigbu stressed that the foundation also created a comic book, where children living with disabilities are seen as superheroes, to help children know how to best engage with Persons With Disabilities (PWDs).
The organisation has so far given out 252 limbs to children and aims to give out 100 limbs this year, she noted.
“Historically when people have falls or accidents, they go straight to bone-setters, instead of having an x-ray on the limb to determine what it is, to avoid having a permanent dead limb, thus necessitating amputation,” she said. “The two-kilometre walk will create an avenue for people to be part of the lives of PWDs, and the focus is to bridge the gap between persons with disabilities and those without.”