Initiative organises ‘walk for mental health’ for persons with disabilities

Jela’s Development Initiatives (JDI), a nonprofit organization, supported by Liliane Fonds through The Leprosy Mission Nigeria, staged an Advocacy Walk on Saturday, August 13, 2022, for the mental health of youths with disabilities and their family members.

The walk kicked off at 7:30am from the Teslim Balogun Stadium (Under the Bridge) to 22B, Amosu Street, Off Bode Thomas Street, Surulere, Lagos.

Speaking at the event, the founder of JDI, Angela Ochu-Baiye stated: “Our goal is to draw public attention to the many forms of discrimination that persons with disabilities face every day, the effect it has on their mental health and consequently, the need for a more inclusive society.”

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Ochu-Baiye, who urged Lagosians to come out and join the walk to put on the front-burner the stigmatization which people with disabilities grapple with, added that some persons with albinism, dwarfism and sickle cell anaemia as well as members of the deaf and blind clusters would be part of the walk.

The advocacy walk, which is a component of a larger project involving free group therapy sessions for persons with disabilities and their family members, will culminate in a final report to be shared with relevant stakeholders for improvement in policy implementation.

Angela further, expressed gratitude to Liliane Fonds and The Leprosy Mission Nigeria for being a champion of inclusion in the country while using the opportunity to call on all stakeholders to take necessary actions to end all forms of discrimination against persons with disabilities.