Ondo state government under the leadership of Governor, Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa is determined to continually make life better and support programs that positively impact People with Disabilities in the State.
This was disclosed by the Special Adviser to the Governor on Gender Matters, Chief Mrs. Olamide Falana at the opening ceremony of the Five-days Business Support Program/ Training for Persons with Disabilities (PWD’s), powered by Project Enable Africa (PEA), held at the office of Gender Matters in Sijuwade, Akure.
Welcoming the participants, the host, Chief Mrs. Falana stated categorically that Ondo State is Gender sensitive and strongly believes in matters of inclusion, saying “We believe in the strength you all have and what you can contribute to the society; When a government takes cognizance of Gender and inclusion issues in the society by caring for the needy and most vulnerable, it enables a balanced implementation of programs for the benefit of all”.
Chief Mrs. Falana used the opportunity to reiterate governments’ effort in the area of employment for PWD’s, noting that a number of them are now gainfully employed and more shall be absorbed into the system in due time, even as she implored them to keep fate with government for more purposeful collaborations.
The Special Adviser appreciated the organizers of the program, even as she charged the participants to keep the mindset of making the best out of the opportunity given so that the products from the training can meet current trend and spur people to patronize them on the exhibition day.
The Chairman of the Agency for Persons with Disabilities, Princess Folasade Arise, who appreciated the Special Adviser and the organizers of the program for the opportunity given to her members, assured that they have the ability to learn and participate effectively for positive outcomes.
Programs Lead of Project Enable Africa, Micheal Ojediran, spoke on the objective of the Project “PEA is a non-governmental organization that promotes the inclusion of Persons with Disabilities; The focus is to gather participants who are entrepreneurs with disabilities and equip them with the essential business skills needed for them to up grade their business.
“So far it has been a great time with the participants because they have shown excellent commitment to the training and the expected outcome is that twenty entrepreneurs with disabilities would be up- skilled with entrepreneural skills, exhibit their businesses, product and services thus, opening up their businesses to a new market and finally they would be given a seed capital inform of grant by the organization; This is our first entry into the State and we hope to be back to replicate this maiden edition to a wider community even as we look forward to more partnerships with the State government”.
Also speaking, Advocacy Lead of Project Enable Africa, Ademibolanle Ajijala said the training was in phases ranging from Financial Management, business models, Funding Sources to Legal Rights and Obligations.
“The last phase of the training is to have them do an exhibition of their products as entrepreneurs, so people can see that with or without a disability an individual can thrive; As the most vulnerable in the society they need encouragement, not just from the point of charity but, we need to let them know that they are part of our society by encouraging them to learn survival strategies amidst present economic hardship”.
Ms. Ajijala hinted that the program which commenced since the 19th of August 2024, would come to a close on the 24th of August 2024, featuring presentation of participation certificates, exhibition of business products and disbursement of a lump sum of One million naira to all the participants. She appreciated the State government for the opportunity given through the office of Gender Matters and enjoined all to come witness and support the participants.
