By Chris Agbo,
On Saturday 27th February 2021 in Abuja Nigeria, Step To the Top Leadership Centre recorded another landmark achievement by organizing a close out ceremony for the successful execution of Project Thinkable 2, where 30 women with disabilities participated and they did amazingly well in their community service projects.
Project Thinkable is a leadership capacity building programme designed by STLC to build the capacity of women with disabilities to lead and take charge of their lives. The project is being supported by Oxfam Voice Nigeria.
The project is divided into two parts, the training workshop where the participants were trained for some days using leadership and life changing modules and the community service where the participants were attached to mentors to carry out community service project using the leadership skills they have acquired from the training. .
The 30 women with disabilities were amazing and they successfully carried out their various community service projects where they engaged in different projects such as reaching out to the indigent people in the society, cleaning of their environments to teach others how to keep their environment clean among other activities they carried out which the society benefited a lot from.
STLC having monitored and satisfied by the performance of these women rewarded them with Community Service Award alongside their mentors who dedicated their time and resources to ensure that the community service projects were successfully.
The Chief Executive Officer of STLC, Dr. Theresa Nwachukwu in her welcome address said that the women are energetic, smart, and intelligent and they have done very well in their respective projects in the last one year so, they deserve to be rewarded alongside their mentors. She said that STLC is grateful to the mentees for stepping out to carry out the community service projects in spite all the challenges they have. It is an indication that women with disabilities are strong people and they can do and achieve anything and what this project is meant to achieve was realized. She thanked all the friends and partners who supported the project in one way or the other.
Dr, Benjamine Wayo, in his keynote address urged the mentees not to lay emphasis on their disadvantages but they should focus on what they have and what they have is the secret of what they can become. He also told them that their disability can be an advantage, it is depends on how they work to change the presumed negativity to become an advantage. He reminded them that the world needs their help therefore; they should do what is right to add value to the society.
The Chairman of the event, Engr Adeolu Odusote while conducting the award presentation told the mentees and the mentors to see the award as a motivation to do more.
The awards were presented to mentees and their mentors including a special award to the project sponsor Oxfam Voice Nigeria.
The Special Guests in their goodwill messages after watching a documentary of Project Thinkable appreciated STLC for a wonderful project. They unanimously encouraged the organization to do more and urged other organizations and individuals to emulate what STLC is doing because there are millions of women with disabilities out there who deserve this kind of life coaching. It is a fact the women with disabilities face double challenges, going through discrimination as women and also as persons with disabilities. They urged the women not to relent because they have the world to conquer and they should be an example to many other women with disabilities out there.
The chairman, Board of Trustees, STLC, Mr. Ike Nwachukwu told TQM that The Chief Executive Officer, STLC, Dr. Theresa Nwachukwu is passionate about assisting women and seeing how disadvantaged women with disabilities are, she decided to be assisting them as well. She did it on her own for years with my support as the husband, we have Rotary Club background and you know what they are known for. It is not easy to reach out to many on your own, so, the idea of STLC came. Then, it became possible to get others on board to assist and also sponsors to help actualize the dream.
The MC of the event, Mr. Joseph Oformmadu who is also a person with disability in a chat with TQM said that it is amazing seeing an organization who can put together a project with far-reaching effect like this one in Nigeria because it is unfortunate, we do hear about people who will get grant, use the money for marriage ceremony or build a new house or buy a new car but, STLC got the money and utilized it judiciously. Seeing these women gathered is a thing of Joy. He expressed his respect for the organization and said that he is so proud associating with them.
Speaking further, he said that he is very happy that there is an organization like STLC who dedicated their resources towards giving hope to women with disabilities, we all know that the vulnerability of women with disabilities is double, they are persons with disabilities and they are women. With more groups like this, more women with disabilities will be empowered and their lives changed.
Blessing Ini, one of the awardees as a mentor, a sign language interpreter by profession told TQM that she is very excited and impressed because before now women with disabilities didn’t know that they can make any impact in the society but with the help of project thinkable 1 and 2, they are making impact and adding value to the society. She expressed joy that their potentials have been brought out and she is hopeful they can do more. Blessing also said that as a mentor, her mentee is a deaf woman, she encouraged her to always express herself, and stop being shy and her self-esteem was built. Now, she has a group of women she is building their capacity on self-esteem and economic empowerment. So Project thinkable 2 have help to embolden her confidence.
The event witnessed the presence of men and women from all works of life and they all left the venue with the mindset that nothing can stop one from achieving great things.
