ISAAC OJO reports on how a benevolent foundation, BINA, stormed Nnewi, Anambra State, with a package to empower the physically challenged, in order to make them self-sufficient and to sway their minds from begging.

The women’s hall of St. Thomas Anglican Church, Otolo-Nnewi, Anambra State, was recently filled to capacity as over five hundred people living with one disability or the other, trooped out to register with BINA Foun­dation for skill acquisition.

In his speech at the occa­sion, the former executive chairman of Nnewi North lo­cal government area, Hon. Amobi Chikwendu, who is a volunteer with the founda­tion, said that BINA is out to make people with disabilities live their dreams by giving them empowerment training.

Hon. Chikwendu said that the foundation, which was established six years ago, has positively impacted a good number of people in Enugu, the base of the organization, and has decided to storm the industrial town of Nnewi to extend the benevolence of the foundation to those in need.

He pointed out that the foundation is passionately committed to empower­ment the physically chal­lenged and to take them off the streets because, the Igbos, by nature, doesn’t beg for alms.

He, however, pointed out that the group empowers, but do not dole out money, even as he maintained that the BINA Foundation has, through its vast contacts, been able to get jobs for vulnerable youths while medical department of the foundation has been treating people with disability at no cost.

In her speech during the registration and sensitization program, the project facilita­tor of BINA Foundation, Mrs Chioma Chikwendu, said that the group can boast of over one hundred volunteers from differ­ent fields of human endeavor.

She said that the president of the foundation, Lady Ifeoma Atuegwu, who is presently outside the shores of Nigeria, decided to take the empow­erment program to Nnewi so that her own people could partake of the wonderful packages of the foundation.

Mrs Chikwendu pointed out the president of the founda­tion; a compassionate indi­vidual, is committed to put­ting smiles on the faces of the less privileged people in the society with her God-given re­sources; noting that the basic philosophy of the foundation is that there is ability in disability.

“BINA Foundation has a mandate to restore the human­ity of the special people with special need by creating the necessary condition for the realization of their potentials as well as collaborate with rel­evant stakeholders and interest parties to offer enlightenment educational materials and ad­vocacy services aimed at elimi­nating conditions that give rise to avoidable disabilities that en­gender special need”. She noted.

The project facilitator said that BINA Foundation is out to fight ignorance among people with physical challenges which has led to monumental pov­erty and backwardness among many of them with the result­ant effect that some of them have to beg before they can eat.

She said that the foundation has packages like computer literacy for the blind, catering services and hotel manage­ment, shoe and bag making, bead making, computer and electronics training, soap and cosmetology, fashion and fash­ion designing, and other sun­dry empowerment trainings.

Mrs Chikwendu revealed that the foundation has a musical band made up ma­jorly of people with dis­abilities which she pointed out is first of its kind in the length and breadth of Nigeria.

“The training programs, ac­cording to her, run between three months and two years, depending on the choice of the beneficiary. The trainings attract no cost whatsoever”, she said.

She said that after the comple­tion of their trainings, the bene­ficiaries would be given a starter package and that the foundation would follow up the graduands to monitor their progress so as to support those doing very well.

The project facilitator said that all the programs and packages of BINA Foundation are meant for empowerment of the physically challenged for a better future.

A beneficiary, Madam Janet Okonkwo, thanked the founda­tion for remembering the less privileged at a time even those that are not having any disability are finding it very hard to feed.