By Joyce Haruna
Over five hundred women and persons with disabilities (PWDs) have benefitted from assistance provided by the Ohunene Empowerment Initiative (OEI), a pet project of the First Lady of Kogi State, Hajiya Sefinat Usman Ododo.
Speaking at the empowerment programme held at the Muhammadu Buhari Square in Lokoja, Hajiya Sefinat Ododo reaffirmed her commitment to improving the dignity and quality of life of persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups across the state.
She explained that the initiative was designed to enhance mobility and provide critical support that would enable beneficiaries to grow their businesses and attain self-reliance.
The First Lady urged recipients to make judicious and productive use of the items and cash grants provided.
In her remarks, the Coordinator of the Ohunene Empowerment Initiative, Mrs Mary Agamalafia, disclosed that within the past year, several individuals, groups and communities have benefitted from various OEI interventions across Kogi State.
She stressed that inclusion should not be seen as charity, noting that genuine development was only achievable when everyone is carried along.
Also speaking at the event, the Executive Secretary of the Kogi State Commission for Disability Affairs, Mr Yakubu Abdulkareem, commended the First Lady for establishing the Ohunene Empowerment Initiative.
He described the programme as a sincere effort to promote inclusion for persons with disabilities, adding that the items distributed would provide beneficiaries with mobility, independence, hope and sustainable means of livelihood.
Items distributed during the exercise included wheelchairs, crutches, other mobility aids, empowerment grants and sunscreen creams.
Edited by Ajifa Ainoko
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