Wife of Kogi
State governor and Founder of Hayat Foundation, Mrs. Amina Bello, has suggested
that government should enforce the provision of wheelchairs for physically
challenged children and “shut down any school which discriminates against
them.”
She told
journalists in Abuja how close friends and some family members mocked her for
having a son who has cerebral palsy.
Mrs. Bello
said she was advised to inject her son with a lethal substance to end his life.
She said,
“Schools which discriminate against children who are living with physical and
developmental challenges should be shut down. Before you set up a school, it
must be accessible to these children with special needs. You must have special
teachers or therapists in every class and of course you should be certified fit
to open a school for special needs children.
“There is
also the stigma which starts from your immediate environment. People will be
whispering when a child with special needs or his parents are around. This has
made a lot of parents to live in depression. This is the reason why some
parents choose to live in denial and lock up such children. I was advised to
inject my son with harmful substance and some people advised me to take him to
the village.”
The
foundation, she said, will establish an institute that will focus on severe
cases of cerebral palsy and open a training centre for behavioural and
occupational therapists.
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