LTH Plans National Resource Center For People With Sensory Impairment

Founder of Let’s Talk Humanity (LTH), Fatima Ganduje-Abiola Ajimobi, has revealed plans by her organisation to build a National Resource Center for people with sensory impairment in Nigeria.

Fatima, who is a daughter of the former National Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, said over the last 10 years, her organisation has impactfully invested in technological gadgets to enhance better education for the Blind and Deaf in Tudun Maliki Special School in Kano State.

LTH has been empowering more than 1,000 deaf and blind persons every year since 2015, at Tudun Maliki Special School, Kano.

Speaking with journalists during the documentary premiere of ‘Let’s Talk Humanity’ on Friday in Abuja, Fatima said having had a successful impact in Kano State, her organisation had plan to go beyond the Northern region and build a National Resource Center.

According to her, the organisation has been able to have a ripple effect in the last 10 years, saying; “as from our inception, training some of the students, the top students and the teachers, year after year this institution, this public school, is turning out over 1,000 students every year, because it has primary, Junior secondary and senior secondary all on the same campus.

“We are impacting over 1000 students every year, over the last10 years, you can do the calculation. Aso we’ve been able to impact them in terms of entrepreneurship, because to be learned is to be able, and to be able is to be productive, and to be productive, it means to be financially stable.”

When asked about her plan going forward, she said: “Our projection for the next thing is to be able to have a national center, a National Resource Center for those with sensory impairment, to be able to tap into the international knowledge and the international resources that are available in the parts of the world that are much more developed than us when it comes to special needs.

“Seeing the faces of alumni, members of staff, and supporters of Tudun Maliki here today takes me back to the very beginning 10 years ago—when you trusted me with something so important: the future of your education, and the possibility of change through technology.”

While calling for partners, advocates and people who are willing to move from intention to action, Fatima expressed optimism that the organisation will affect more lives positively in the years to come.

The event brought together experts in disability education, federal and state governments officials, staff, alumni and students of Tudun Maliki Special School, Kano, with a key note speech from the Vice Principal of the School, Ibrahim Abdukabir, on the impact of ‘Let’s Talk Humanity’ Initiative.

Former Kano State governor, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, lauded the initiative and called on Northern State Governors, development partners, federal and state governments across the country to embrace the initiative.

Specifically, Ganduje, who is the biological father of the founder, drew attention to the array of beggars in the North and how they have been neglected, asking that attention should be given to them.

“Yes, they are neglected because they are physically challenged. This has affected their psyche, motivation and they cannot even think they are human beings like other beings but unveiling this kind of programme we are making them to be like any other human being in our society.

“Finally, I urge those in authority and development partners to make a great change, t’s fishing.Those physically challenged.Can’t stop begging.They can develop to the extent that they can even be employers of Labour. They can develop to the extent that they can be genius in various fields of endeavor,” he stated.

Also speaking, Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, Dr. Bernard M. Doro, who commended the initiative, emphasised that society must bear in mind that before a programme or device is designed, the People Living with Disabilities (PLWD) should be considered.

According to the minister, inclusion of people with special needs is not an option but an obligation.

“When we develop assisted devices or technology in general this has to be done with People Living with disability in mind.

“You don’t wait until you do it before you begin to adapt it for people to use, and I believe it is an important point to make. We must move towards a future where accessibility is by design, moving away from retrofitting tools towards building universal platforms, digital must be the priority here, technology should empower individuals to navigate the world on their own terms,” the Minister said.