They got what they needed most: love and hope, not pity or empty platitudes.
It was a day visually-impaired pupils in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) are not likely to forget easily.
Ministers spoke with them. Also, a visually challenged lawyer talked with them. And all who spoke were kind, respectful and inspirational. They also left the kids with one clear message: they could be anything they wanted to be only if they worked hard at it, in spite of their physical disability.
The event was put together by the Association for the Eicatio and Aid of Children with Visual Impairment (AEACVI).
The students were excited as words of encouragement and assurance poured in from the speakers.
The visually impaired lawyer gave an account of her personal experience and determination to make a difference.
The atmosphere in the hall was electric but unusual. Though impaired, the students could feel loving hands around them. The voices were friendly and caring. There was no holding back. The visually impaired students rushed to the hall with smiles, and highly expectant. They were not disappointed by their disability; instead, they felt challenged. They realised that their society did not forget them after all.
The students took to the floor with their presentation of songs, proving clearly that in spite of their sight loss, they are just like other children. And so the drumming went on complemented by songs of praise to the Almighty. Some parents and guests at the occasion could not hold back as they joined in the singing and dancing. There was no dull moment.
By their condition, they could be referred to as the most venerable in the society. Not much is usually expected from them, hence parents of such children don’t even bother to invest in them and in most cases they are condemned to street-begging by the simple reason that they are visually impaired. Loss of sight in this part of the world is almost a curse and therefore a reason or licence to forget such an individual.
The president of Association for the Eicatio And Aid of Children with Visual Impairment (AEACVI), Mrs. Ozo-Onyali Ogechukwu succinctly captured the public perception of this category of people in the society as she rightly said: “When we think of vision loss, people often imagine a debilitating black void filled with isolation and loneliness. For some of us, the thought of blindness evokes the image of the blind beggar often seen on our streets. Many people have an image of a person imprisoned by darkness-stumbling, falling, or groping around in the dark. They imagine a person who is totally inadequate and unable to take care of himself.’ In fact, blindness is the most feared affliction, because the eyes are viewed as the most important sense organ.”
She, however, noted that: “Developed countries have stamped out these stereotypes because they have equipped their schools, from early intervention stage to graduate level, with qualified vision and special education teachers, as well as materials that ensure no child is left behind in the quest for education.”
Thus, she said, today you will find people with vision loss from these countries specialising in different areas of science, engineering, technology, space science and robotics.
But this has not been the case in this part of the world. However, Ogechukwu said that with proper education, the children could be provided with skills and opportunities to build their future so that they can have true independence to live a happy and successful life”.
Ogechukwu explained that the association was borne “out of the struggles she and her husband went through after receiving their daughter’s diagnosis”.
She noted: “We went through the grieving process, feeling of isolation and desperation and then we were faced with the challenge of getting educational materials to assist her in school and at home. Having gone through this, we now appreciate what other families go through, so we decided to effect a change.”
These children, when supported and educated, could become history makers and world changers, such as, Stevie Wonder, a highly successful musician, Helen Keller, an advocate for people living with vision-loss, and most currently, Governor David Patterson, who became the first blind governor in the US and also the first African-American to become the governor of the New York State. So everything is possible.
The founder of the Albino foundation Mr. Jake Epelle, however stole the show as he assured them of the foundation’s support.
Epelle was emphatic as he told the pupil that though they might be without their sight that does not make them blind, explaining that a blind person is one that is without a vision or dream. So he challenged them to have dreams and should not see themselves as being limited by their lack of sight.
Also, Miss Callister Ugwuaneke, visual impaired lawyer told her story entitled “My world, the drive so far”
Minister of Health, Professor Onyebuchi Chukwu encouraged parents and families bearing the burden of care for the visually impaired child not to give up. He said: “Never give up, because by careful training, the blind can make better use of the perceptions of hearing and touch and thus overcome much of their handicap.”
But hear this, the Minister of Health, Professor Christian Onyebuchi said that over one million Nigerians are blind while over three million are visually impaired. Only a few of them are educated. (SightSavers International)
He attributed blindness and visual impairment to uncorrected refractive errors, cataract, glaucoma, corneal scarring from Vitamin A deficiency, measles, ophthalmitis os in the newborn and harmful traditional practices. He said: ”To stop this from happening, governments at all levels are executing programmes such as measles immunisation, vitamin A supplementation and nutrition education. Midwives and traditional birth attendants are encouraged to clean the eyes of newborn at birth. Teachers, parents and pupils are encouraged to avoid causing injuries to children at the time of discipline.”
