The Head of Local Government Administration, Ife Central Local Government, Mrs Susan Aromolaran, has donated mobility aids to People With Physical Disabilities in the area. The aids, which included wheelchairs and crutches, were distributed to the beneficiaries on Tuesday at the Local Government Secretariat, Ajebamidele, Ile-Ife.
In a speech at the event, captioned, “Hope is not lost”, Aromolaran said that “no man on earth is challenge-free. We all have one challenge or the other that we are battling with but what makes yours prominent is that it can be seen physically,” she said.
According to her, those who cannot be seen might be more disabled than you but covered with clothes.
“That is the reason I always look for avenues to help people living with a disability. We can see that abroad they make provision for disabled people in their walkways, staircases and other areas they know they will pass through but it’s not so here in our country. But our lawmakers are making frantic efforts with several bills to ensure that people living with disability are comfortable. When the bills are passed, life will become more bearable for them,” Aromolaran said.
She said that because of her worry to assist persons living with disability, she approached an Ife indigene in Lagos, Adenike Adeolu, a Rotarian.
“We spoke at length and the result is what is being distributed today,” she said. She implored well-meaning Nigerians to always assist people living with disability and not look down on them. “The God who created the able-bodied men is the same that created them,” Aromolaran further said.
Kehinde Onitiju, the Leader of, Disability Community in the area, In his welcome address, thanked the council boss for her kind gesture.
Onitiju said that “It’s a thing of joy for the great opportunities that will come to those that will benefit from the donation”.
He further noted that many could not move about freely because their crutches and other movement aids were no longer functional.
“With the mobility aids, relief has come to many of my colleagues, who found it difficult to purchase mobility aids due to paucity of funds. We are grateful for the people God used to make this happen,” Onitiju said.
NAN