Everyone in the community and at the centre was excited. The District Head received the visitors himself. The management and inmates were keen not just to hear what they had to say but also share a few bits of information with their guests.
It was a day to remember at the Kaduna State Rehabilitation Centre, Makera, Kakuri, where people living with disability are trained in skills to help them lead meaningful lives.
The United Kingdom’s Minister For Africa and the Department For International Development (DFID), Hon. Grant Shapps and top British High Commission officials visited the rehabilitation centre to assess its progress and ensure that the programmes outlined for the inmates meet their needs and standard set to make life more meaningful for the less privileged.
Shapps was received at the facility by the District Head of Kakuri, Alhaji Shehu Tijjani, officials of the Nigeria Stability and Reconciliation Programme (NSRP) and the management of the centre.
Mr Shapps who interacted freely with the inmates, taking photographs with them, told journalists that the UK government would be paying special attention to the physically challenged people because of the impact of violent conflicts on them and the fact that they would come in handy in peace building.
Mr Shapps who later inaugurated a 100m pounds public sector accountability and governance programme at the state Government House, said he was impressed by the ability of the inmates to learn quickly and pass the knowledge to those in rural areas.
The Nation gathered that the centre which was established in 1980 has a population of 150 students who are trained according to each of “the broad categories of the special needs from the visually impaired, physically challenged, to ones with acute mental challenges.”
For about one and half to two years, students in the centre have learnt various skills that are designed to take them off the streets, reduce the incidence of stigmatisation against them and make them to be more useful to themselves and the society. Besides the skills they have acquired, they have also become change agents in their communities as others who are not as privileged as they are run to them to learn about the school in the centre.
Queen Davids, one of the visually impaired students at the centre, said she has learnt about the rights of women through various advocacy programmes initiated by the school.
Davids said she also learnt cake baking, weaving and knitting, keeping the home and environment clean and her communication ability has improved since she came to the school. She said parents of physically challenged people in the rural areas are always sceptical releasing their children for training, but that on several occasions, she has become a reference point as they now listen to her whenever she visited the rural areas and talked about her experiences in the school.
Zainab Ahmed from Makarfi who has spent one and half years in the school called on government to improve the facilities. She recalled that she was always moody and unhappy about her condition (physically challenged) before she was brought to the Centre, but haven met with people and interacted with them, she now sees life from different perspective.
The Nation learnt that based on the commitment of the teachers and the students, there has been a reduction in the number of gender-based violence in the centre, teenage pregnancy and pregnancy rates within students have dropped drastically, while the students have learned about self esteem, entrepreneurship, human rights, safety and security.
The NSRP supported by DFID has Inclusive Peace Club in the Centre to deal with gender issues, advocacy programmes and capacity building for the vulnerable and marginalised sections of the communities. Other non-governmental organisations such as Alpha Care, coordinated by Hon. Hassan Abubakar, it was learnt also play significant roles in peace building initiatives in Kaduna state.
Hon Abubakar told The Nation that the collaboration between NSRP and DFID has benefitted so many non-governmental organisations in the state especially on peace building initiatives and support for the physically challenged.
Alpha Care, he said, has been able to use drama presentation (Magawatta) on radio and television to promote conflict resolution, democracy and good governance besides creating health awareness and respect for the rights of women and children. He commended the NSRP and DFID for supporting its advocacy programme, saying youth restiveness would reduce if there is adequate investment in capacity building, and free education.
He urged Governor Nasri el-Rufai to build on the achievements of past administrations in the state, especially in sustaining peaceful coexistence among the various ethnic groups by bringing stakeholders together. Hon Abubakar said noted that the government should not wait until crisis situation before building on the relative peace in the state.
He said the governor should support initiatives that would make the local government councils’ authorities work together with traditional rulers, religious leaders, youths, women groups and other non-governmental organisations in other to confront the problems of insecurity, unemployment, drug abuse, armed robbery, etc.
