NGO Strategises To Redefine Disability In Children

A Non-Governmental Organisation, Lifeline Organisation For Children Empowerment (LOCE) has organised the first Nigerian Inclusive Play, PLAG Season 8.
PLAG is an acronym for Play, Learn And Grow.
Speaking with The Tide, the Founder/Executive Director of Lifeline, Ngozi Chukwuka, explained that LOCE exists, operates and functions mainly due to children with disabilities, in a world where all children (especially children with disabilities) have access to a good and quality life.
Mrs Chukwuka said Play Learn And Grow (PLAG) is one of its programmes that had run successfully in the last eight years.
Chukwuka explained that it was their own way of responding to the global agenda of ‘Leave no One Behind,’ as every child matters as well deserves to play.
She added that the success stories recorded from PLAG had been overwhelming and phenomenal as many kids had gotten a redefinition of what disability is all about as well exposing many parents to understand what a disadvantage child is all about too.
According to her, over the years, the organisation has made parents to look away kids look away from the seeming limitations on the outside of their kids and explore the limitless man on the inside; on the premise that the man that is really handicapped is the man that has refused to explore his inner strength.
She said such knowledge informed their different themes over the years.
She stated that this year, they considered the theme: Wired to lead” to drive home the truth, “Leadership is not answering a title but bridging the gaps. A leader is one that identifies a gap and closes it. He identifies a problem and mobilizes resources towards solving it.
“We are crafted by God to be the answer to the world’s problems. There is an exact problem we all are meant to solve. I encourage every child to activate the leader in him. No one should exclude himself or be excluded in leadership on the bases of physical disability, because disability is in the mind,” she charged.
According to her, “About 15% of the global populations live with some form of disability; of those, 2–4% experience significant difficulties in functioning.
“A World Health Organization source maintains that about 40% of Africa’s population consists of people with disabilities, including 10-15 percent of school-age children. Global disability is on the rise due to population ageing and the rapid spread of chronic diseases.
“According to 2016 population estimates, the population of Rivers State is 7,303,900, using the universal estimate of 10% of any population being made of children with disabilities, over 730,390 will be living with disabilities of various categories in Rivers State alone, although there are no accurate records in the state of people living with disabilities, people with disabilities continue to live with great physical, social, economic and attitudinal barriers in their daily lives,” Chukwuka added.
The Tide reports that PLAG is held yearly to mark the International Day of People with Disabilities worldwide, through PLAG.
LOCE advocates the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and creates awareness of the role of these goals in building a more inclusive and equitable world for children with disabilities. It is an inclusive play that provides equal opportunity for all children to play.

By: Susan Serekara-Nwikhana