Deborah Animasawun Foundation fetes children with special needs in Ibadan

Co-Founder of the Deborah Animasawun Foundation, Aduragbemi Animasawun Euba (centre) flanked by persons with disabilities and young persons from orphanage homes during the celebration of the World Disability Day in Ibadan at the weekend.

As part of efforts to celebrate the 2022 World Disability Day Celebration, the Deborah Animasawun Foundation has celebrated children with special needs in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

Speaking during the event with the theme “Creating Enabling Environment for our Children”, Co-Founder of the foundation, Aduragbemi Animasawun Euba, encouraged persons with disabilities not to allow their current situations to discourage them.

She also noted the event was organised to give vulnerable children a sense of belonging in the society.

“I want to kick off the Christmas mood in every one of us. So today is about celebrating you. And I want to tell you that you are beautiful. You are loved. You are special and your future is bright.

“Nothing can stop you from achieving a bright future. Nothing can limit you. So, I want to encourage you all in whatever way you feel that you are now, not just me. When you look at me, you see someone who truly loves you.

“So I don’t care who doesn’t love you. I don’t care how you feel you’ve ever felt rejected. This is me saying I love your homes. I appreciate you. I celebrate you, your staff. You’re all stars, you’re special children. And I love you,” the child rights advocate said.

Also speaking at the event, Director of Child Welfare in the state Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Inclusion, Oyediji Ariori, called for more support for people with special needs in the state and country.

Ariori also called on concerted efforts to improve the care in the area of sexual and reproductive health of vulnerable girls who cannot afford to get sanitary products.

He further noted that the Oyo State government has domesticated a lot of laws that focus on the rights of vulnerable persons in the state.

The director also called on the various stakeholders to provide more intensive care for the health, reproductive and sexual needs of the children by increasing their daily living wages and the number of people who care for vulnerable groups in the homes.

Ariori said: “It is very disheartening that we have a lot of criminal activities or actions done against our young persons. Number one is sexual assaults in our secondary school, in our orphanages, and streets. It’s quite disheartening to know that even in our orphanages where they are supposed to be taking care of, they are doing these sorts of acts.

“It is a call to our parents that we have to be security conscious especially to our girl-child. The predators are already in our living rooms. Even the friend of the father is now taking advantage of female children. We must all be careful. We must also be wary of how some fathers relate to the girl-child.

“We discovered that sexual assault is now a recurrent issue in our society. And what is giving me psychological problems now is that you find it difficult to prosecute the offenders and once the girls have been involved in such acts, we find it difficult to rehabilitate and reintegrate them back into the society.”

Father of the host, Rev Idowu Animasawun, pointed out that the event has opened his eyes to another world of people.

Children who benefitted from the programme were drawn from Agbedare Jesus Care Foundation, Mercy of God Home for Less-Privileged, Christian Mission School for the Deaf, Network for Inclusion of People With Special Needs (NIPSN), Oluwaseun Orphanage Home and New Dawn Home for Special Needs People.

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