LAFIA- The Nigerian Red Cross Society (NRCS) has distributed dignity kits to 110 women of reproductive age and girls with disabilities in Nasarawa State.
The engagement and kits distribution was done with support from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC).
Mrs Fatima Ibrahim-Nasir, Director, Protection, Gender, Inclusion and Education, NRCS Abuja, on Thursday said that the engagement was to identify with and encourage Persons with Disabilities (PWD).
“We want them to know that we are aware of their challenges and want them to be part of everything we do, for their voices to be heard.
“This programme is dedicated to PWDs, to interact with them and get their thoughts concerning the gender needs that affect them.
“This will help us to plan a better intervention for them,” Ibrahim-Nasir said.
She said that the dignity kits being distributed to the PWDs contained essential items for women within the reproductive age and young women.
The items included soap, reusable sanitary pads, detergents, disinfectants, body creams, and flip-flops, amongst others.
Mrs Lilian Adeogba, Senior Community Engagement Accountability Officer, IFRC, supporting Protection, Gender, and Inclusion, noted that the programme for PWDs was part of IFRC operation under its Capacity Building Fund to show inclusiveness and ensure that no one was left behind.
Adeogba pointed out that the essence of the event was to ensure that their needs are prioritised, and voices of persons affected with special needs were involved in the operations of the IFRC through the NRCS.
“This means we need to know what their needs are, how to meet them, and how we can best partner and work together, she said.
She said the quest for the partnership with PWDs had led to engagement with several stakeholders, including the Persons with Disabilities Rights Commission in Nasarawa State.
“We are taking this forward to work closely with NRCS to ensure that our tools and ways to reach the PWD would be specially focused on how they want it.
“As an organisation, we would see how we can continuously provide the best services to them in terms of having access to information and protection of their rights as well,” Adeogba said.
In his remarks, Mr Jerry Kuje, Secretary NRCS, Nasarawa State, said the beneficiaries were drawn from different communities devoid of ethnic and religious leaning.
He said this was in line with the organisation’s principle of inclusivity, community engagement, and accountability.
On his part, Mr Saleh Keana, Chairman of Nasarawa State Disabilities Rights Commission, represented by Mr Tafida Jibrin, Commissioner I at the commission, appreciated NRCS for the recognition and gesture.
He maintained that PWDs have been agitating for inclusion over the years, and the move by NRCS was commendable.
Keana, therefore, appealed to spirited individuals and organisations to always assist the vulnerable and PWD to ameliorate their plight.
Some of the beneficiaries, Aisha Abubakar, a cripple, and Elizabeth Allu, a visually impaired, thanked NRCS for the gesture. (NAN)
