We Must Support Children With Special Needs – Aisha Buhari
BY EDMOND ODOK, ABUJA – Wife of the President, Mrs Aisha Muhammadu Buhari says Nigeria must create an enabling environment and support children with special needs to contribute their quota to national development.
She said “Everywhere in the world, children with physical or mental disabilities are confronted with learning difficulties, but they need to reach their full potential and contribute to national development”
According to her, “There are highly specialized institutions and facilities to cater for their special needs”, adding that “for these institutions to function effectively, they need appropriate infrastructure, highly trained teachers and modern teaching tools.”
Mrs Buhari spoke through the National Coordinator of Future Assured Programme, Dr Kamal Abdurrahman Muhammad, during the closing ceremony of a week-long Training Programme for Teachers of Children with Special Needs in the FCT held at the School for the Handicapped, Kuje, Abuja on June 22, 2018.
She said there are existing gaps, especially in the use of modern technological tools and challenged stakeholders and philanthropists to refocus and engage their energy and resources to help the children.
She said the Aisha Buhari Foundation (ABF) has the vision of improving the health and social status of women and children in this country, and with Education being one of the priority areas, ABF is focusing on special education in line with Sustainable Development Goal 3, which is about leaving no one behind.
She said the need to ensure that these children are not left behind led to the partnership with Nika Project to train their teachers on the use of modern technological tools. She expressed happiness that the teachers have learnt well.
In his remarks, one of the facilitators from Nika Project, Dan Philips expressed happiness with the rate of absorption by the teachers, noting that; “They have quickly adapted to these modern tools.”
He said on their return to the classrooms, the teachers should impart on the children what they have learnt and called for the expansion of the project to cover teachers from across the country.
Also speaking at the programme, a UAE-based Developmental Paediatrician and facilitator, Dr Shola Faniran, noted that the rate of disability in Nigeria is huge with 15 per cent of all 5 – 15 year old children in Nigeria having some form of disability.
She expressed the need to engage the category of Nigerians with knowledge and skills, reiterating that an early start would help to reduce the impact of the disability.
The training was attended by teachers from the School for the Handicapped; School for the Blind; School for the Deaf; Autism Center; and Institute for the Disabled.
