The Lagos State government has once again extended financial support to special homes and disability cluster groups within the state.
The Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs (LASODA), distributed ₦500,000: 00 each to nine homes and six cluster groups. This initiative follows a previous one where the agency provided ₦100,000: 00 each to 100 persons with disabilities just a month earlier.
Speaking at the agency’s office at the Alausa Secretariat, the General Manager of LASODA, Mrs. Adenike Oyetunde-Lawal explained that the purpose of the initiative is to empower caregivers and help them meet the needs of children and individuals with disabilities under their care.
Oyetunde-Lawal noted that this gesture is part of the state government’s ongoing commitment to improving the quality of life for persons with disabilities. It ensures that caregivers and support groups are adequately equipped to provide essential services.
She emphasised that Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s administration is passionate about addressing the needs of Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) and is committed to ensuring that no one is left behind.
According to her, “We are here to ensure that we create an environment where we can all thrive. We cannot provide the entire financial support that you need, but this is just a token, especially for the concerns.”
“In the coming weeks, we will be launching an initiative for elderly individuals with disabilities, those above 60 years of age, as well as civil servants with disabilities. We also plan to support PWDs who have business concerns but have never registered their businesses. We will guide them through financial literacy, taxation, and business registration, and provide them with their CAC certificates, so when grant opportunities arise, we can easily identify the registered businesses.”, she added.
Moving forward, Oyetunde-Lawal averred that LASODA is working on additional interventions to provide both physical and mental support for children and individuals with disabilities in the state.
“For the first time, we will host an interactive quiz with special education teachers in Lagos. We are also working on our Ability Games, collaborating with experts.
“We are also working on support for the deaf community. We aim to provide neurological checkups for children so we can understand their specific needs and avoid giving them hearing aids they don’t require. We are working with some schools in Lagos, and deaf clusters have sent their children for evaluation. We will provide hearing aids and follow up with them for a few years. Often, it’s the cost of servicing hearing aids that causes them to be abandoned, so we aim to provide pocket-friendly options that parents can afford to maintain”, she stated.
The General Manager encouraged the groups to unite and present a common front to explore both local and international opportunities that can improve their services within their communities.
Speaking on behalf of the beneficiaries, the Chairman of Physical Clusters, Mr. Rotimi Adeniyi praised the state government for its commitment to improving the lives of persons with disabilities through various initiatives. He also called for additional medical support for the groups.
Beneficiaries include Gilead Initiatives for PWDs, Victoria Intellectual Disability, Resource Centre for the Blind, Lupus Remedies Global Support Foundations, the Joint National Association of Persons with Disabilities, the Nigeria Association of the Blind, and the Dwarf Association, among others.
