Childcare in Nigeria

This is a nice tribute to someone who gave so much to her nation's children. She is an inspiration. The article says it all.

Judy


Uncertainty looms over continuity of Child Care Trust as First Lady passes On

By Emmanuel Edukugho
Vangard on line

The death of Nigeria’s First Lady, Her Excellency, Chief (Mrs) Stella Obasanjo is a terrible blow to special education, less privileged and physically challenged children, who have now lost their greatest benefactor.

No other first lady in modern Nigeria, an indeed all of Africa, has committed her talent, time, resources, intellect, so passionately to the care and upbringing of handicapped children, sometimes, regarded as the “wretched of the earth," scorned and despised, by the society.

Her love for children with physical disability, poor and dejected, often without hope, neglected by society, made the first lady to establish the Child Care Trust Foundation (CCTF).

It was specifically targeted at disabled children of poor parentage - the crippled, lame, deaf, dumb, blind the terminally ill, mentality retarded, partially blind, orphans and abandoned.

Stella Obasanjo believed that all children have rights to life, happiness, good health and hope in a bright future. She had always insisted that, “all the physically challenged children are asking from us (society) is a secured future, not pity.”

The child care trust established in May 2000, was mainly to provide a platform, according to her, “for children to turn disability to ability”, adding, “it is a task for all of us.”

She made it clear that, “our duty is to help children to gain access to education and healthy living.” Her philosophy, which informed the founding of child care trust, was “do the good possible, not minding how little.”

Other objectives of the child care trust, as enunciated by her, were to upgrade the health and economic status of handicapped children for wholesome and fulfilling life, offer a conducive environment for the children to achieve the best; support existing institutions in capacity building; provide counselling services for children with disability; provide computer education with setting up of a computer information communication technology development centre.

Establishment of a research agency for children studies, a data bank for research work on physical disability and setting up of early education centre.

The ICT/computer training centre is specifically for disabled children who should not be left out in this age of computer technology.

With a great vision and commitment to the welfare and well being of handicapped children who deserve equal opportunity with their able-bodies counterparts, Stella Obasanjo has put in everything to realise her project and give hope to the hopeless.

She built a child care model centre in Abuja where young people learn vocational skills and trades such as tailoring bead-making and hair-dressing. A specialist clinic provides health care for the children, occupational therapy, speech therapy and the likes.

The late first lady was involved in an extensive networking with the national immunization programme for eradication of the six killer diseases and reduction of the high maternal and infatite mortality rate. She was also networking with NAFDAC to check and combat influx of fake drugs into the market.

The child care trust is said to be one of the best institutions for disabled children in Africa. There is good quality teaching and training, conducive environment which enhances the academic development and sound health of the children.

Before coming in to make such a tremendous personal impact on this aspect of education, no government or private organisation has taken special education to the level of child care trust initiative.

Special education as defined in the national policy on education is the education of children and adults who have learning difficulties because of different kinds of handicaps - blindness, partial-sightedness, deafness, hardness - of- hearing, mental retardation, social maladjustment, limb deformity or malformation, etc due to circumstances of birth, inheritance, social position, mental and physical health patterns, or accident in later life. As a result, such children and adults are unable to cope with the regular school class organisation and methods.

Also, there are the special and talented children who are intellectually precocious and find themselves in sufficiently challenged by the programmes of the regular school.

So therefore, in accordance with government policy to provide equal educational opportunities for all children, special education was conceived to provide both for the physically challenged children and those unable to cope with regular school. They are classified as children with special needs.

The goals of special education are two-fold- (i) provide adequate education for all special cases; (ii) provide a diversified and appropriate curriculum for all the beneficiaries. The federal ministry of education has responsibility for co-ordinating special education activities in Nigeria, in collaboration with relevant non-government agencies. Such education for all children with special needs shall be free at all levels.

When Stella established the child care trust foundation, she worked very hard to ensure that all necessary facilities for easy access to education by the handicapped children are provided. Design of the school buildings took into account the special needs of the handicapped.

To gain admission into the centre, the children undergo sensory, medical and psychological screening to identify any incidence of handicap.

Before her death in Spain, Sunday morning, there are eighty (80) children in the child care trust centre in Abuja. It began in 2000 in a rented apartment in Wuse II. After two years, she built a resource centre at the Satellite town, Bwari, equipped with modern state-of-the-art facilities for teaching and learning in special education. There are classrooms for special primary education for children, ages 8-15 years, free school and day-care centre for working mothers who put their babies there before going to work.

She had lamented about, “lack of ample space to absorb applicants, since admission is limited by space,” saying “only a few lucky children have been admitted.”

According to her, “our future plan is to expand facilities for more children to get access, and we need assistance to be able to absorb people who have been on waiting list for three years.” She disclosed that child care trust will be built in all the six geo-political zones in the country.

Stella Obasanjo was also committed to the struggle against HIV/AIDS scourge. At a recent international conference on AIDS in Kampala, she expressed optimism and hope that a cure would soon be found for the deadly disease so that Africa be spared the tragedy of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

She established a scholarship scheme for children who became orphans due to the death of their parents by AIDS. About 50 of such orphans have been offered scholarship. The late first lady had pledged that about 3,700 orphans will be offered scholarship by 2006/2007 school year.

Most responses to her death as gathered by Vanguard Education Weekly so far, pointed to how to sustain and keep alive the child care trust project.

Dr. (Mrs) Esther Lambo, a close friend of Stella and wife of Health Minister, Prof. Eyitayo Lambo could not hide her sorrow and grief over the sudden death of the first lady.

About the child care trust, she said: “It’s a very good initiative. Let us not allow her dream to die. Not only to be in Abuija, but to have the child care trust centres in different parts of Nigeria. There is need for assistance to bring it up to standard, and do her honour to sustain and expand the centre.

Dr. Mba, Chief Medical Director, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, had this to say: “The child care trust is a wonderful programme, must not be allowed to die. She created a sense of belonging and dignity for these children. It’s a mighty job which must be sustained.”

A legal practitioner, Dr. Felicia Monye, remarked: “government should support her programme. Not a personal one. She reached out to the physically challenged, under privileged, those without anyone to help him. That was the area she focused her time and energy. Donor agencies, the private sector and government should all support the child care trust.”

A parent whose disabled child is at child care trust said: “My child was formerly attending a school and was suffering always from malaria and typhoid fever. Then I took the child to child care trust which has good quality environment, clean and hygienic. Teachers, mentors, look after them very well. The child care trust needs support and the intakes should be enlarged. Now class six (primary) is the highest. We should be thinking of moving to the secondary school level, hence the need for more support.”

Before her death, Stella Obasanjo had organised some fund raising activities, appealing to wealthy Nigerians to come and financially support her project. As much as these affluent people of our society express deep sympathy for the plight of those children, they should also go deep into their wallets. This had been her clarion call to the rich for assistance.