As part of its CSR activities, Ivory League of Progress, supported by Rotary Club of Victoria Garden City (VGC), recently donated 20 units of wheel chairs to Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria, Disabled Welfare Association of Nigeria and Regina Mundi Catholic Church.
The event which was held during the Independence Day Celebration of Nigeria was an opportunity for the two Non-Governmental Associations to reach out to the less privileged in the society.
In his opening remarks, the President of Ivory League of Progress, Ivorian Tunde Thani, stated that Ivory League of Progress was established in 1987 and it has always carried out CSR activities from time to time. The Club’s establishment was borne out of its cardinal vision to identify indigent people in the society and to strive to cater for their needs. In his words ‘we strive to cater for the needs of the people through provision of materials, advocacy and Intervention over the years. We have supported Associations like Modupe Cole Memorial Child Care and Treatment Home, Pacelli School of the Blind, Old People’s Homes and Initiative for Children and Women with Disabilities’.
Ivorian Tunde Thani further stated that the Club has come to identify with groups that are very important in the society but which are often overlooked due to their disabilities. He recognized that people with disabilities have a problem of mobility which affects their socio-economic life and as a result, the donation of the wheel chairs will alleviate the challenges they face on a daily basis. In his words, ‘we believe that as we donate these Wheel Chairs to your Associations, it will improve your lives, total well-being and assist in your social and economic life’.
He also enjoined the Association to make proper use of the Wheel Chairs and to ensure that it is distributed to the physically challenged among them who are desperately in need of it at the moment. Ivorian Tunde Thani further stated that on behalf of the entire members of Ivory League of Progress, this donation that they have made will certainly not be the last. He assured them that the donations will continue from time to time.
In his remarks, the immediate past president of Rotary Club of VGC, Mr. Yemi Fakayejo, stated that Ivory League of Progress and Rotary Club of VGC share the same vision, purpose and vision in touching the lives of the less privileged in the society. In his words, ‘When we see opportunities like this to touch lives, we strive to key into it. This is why Rotary Club of VGC is happy to partner with Ivory League of Progress to bring smiles on the faces of the less privileged in the society’.
Mr. Yemi Fakayejo also bemoaned the plight of persons with disabilities in the society and enjoined the government and members of the public to come to their aid regularly. He appealed to the government at both State and Federal, to always consider the physically challenged when planning for the environment. He gave an instance like when skyscrapers are built on our roads, the government should also make a pathway for the physically challenged as done in developed countries of the world.
In his response to the donation of the Wheel Chairs, the National Chairman of Spinal Cord Injuries Association of Nigeria, Mr. Obioha Ononogbu, thanked Ivory League of Progress and Rotary Club of VGC for the kind gesture. He stated that he wished that more corporate organizations could come to their aid occasionally. He also pleaded with the government at all levels to consider the plight of less privileged people in the society, by including them in their annual and quarterly allocations. This he said will go a long way to alleviate the plight of the less privileged in society.
