COMMUNITY: Iwoland Development Coalition Empowers 1000 People

 

• Doles Out Life-Supporting Items To The Disable

As part of efforts to give back to the society, an alliance of Non-Governmental Organisations under the umbrella of Iwoland Development Coalition on Saturday empowered 1000 people in Iwo and its environs.

The Coalition also distributed life-supporting facilities like crutches, walking frames, wheel chairs among other major items to people with disabilities.

Speaking at the 2018 Annual Day Celebration for Empowerment of Aged and People with Disabilities at Iwo town hall, the Coordinator of Iwoland Development Coalition and Guidance Community Development Foundation, Mr. Adisa Kabir Adeniyi, said the programme was organised to show love to young ones, less-privileged and those with disabilities as part of efforts to motivate them and raise their standard of living in the society.

Adeniyi said since it is crucial to care for young people, old people and people with disabilities, the programme has opened windows of opportunities to foster mutual benefits particularly for the needy.

According to Adeniyi, the young of today are the present and future of any society, thus their proper education and mentorship will determine the greatness or otherwise of any society.

He said, “These are the set of beings that must be passionately taken care of particularly on the need to ensure their well-being and standard of living in the society.

”We carefully selected people that truly need way people living with disabilities, the aged, the less-privileged and the young ones who face one or two challenges in the course of growing up that we have empowered today.

“We have executed over 35 projects across sectors and just of recent the Foundation spearheaded the fund raising for the construction and rehabilitation of a bridge that connects Iwo to Osogbo, the state capital.

”The Coalition has on different occasions organised skills acquisition, technical and vocational training where thousands of youths have benefited from as many were provided with the necessary facilities to kick-start and translate the knowledge acquired through the training into fruitful use.

”Today, over 1000 people comprising,  people living with disabilities, widows, poor, aged, pupils of secondary schools and students of higher institutions were supported with necessary incentives.

In his lecture, the Guest lecturer and Former Acting Vice Chancellor, Osun State University, Professor Oguntola Jelil Alamu, averred that in spite of the commendable efforts being put into ensuring independent sustenance for the elderly and disabled people, yet, it does not seem that efforts made are having the desired effect.

He called on the well-meaning Nigerians to champion the course at supporting the needs of the aged, youths and people with disabilities.

”It is crystal clear that aged and disabled people occupy a pride of place in the society and should not be left unattended to while the contemporary society should seek their stability and well-being because they are morally and economically weak.

”Our youths, aged and elderly persons need empowerment, companionship, freedom among others to survive and be well integrated into the society to which they live”.