‘How we prepared physically challenged girl for marriage’
INSIDE IBADAN PALSY CHILDREN HOME
By Ola Ajayi, Ibadan
“Omije oju mi beere aanure baba, fi aso ojurere wo mi Olorun mi, araye n reti ohun ti mo mubo lodo re baba mimo, Odun yi nlo, odun yi nlo, Omije oju mi n beere aanu ree”, meaning:
“My tears are asking for your mercy oh God,
Lord, clothe me with garment of favour,
People are anxious to see your presence in my life
The year is about ending,
Father,my teary eyes are praying for your mercy”.
With unsteady dance steps and incoherent voice, this song by Bunmi Akinnanu was the tune that Damilola Temidayo, a 10-year-old cerebral palsy boy, sang. He nearly moved all of us in the home to tears.
Just as the little innocent boy sang, he and others in the home actually deserve mercy. If a person whose heart is made of steel and iron enters Jesus Kids Home for the Disabled, located at Ifelodun Street, Monatan, Iwo Road, Ibadan, he would be moved to tears because of their conditions as some of the kids who have cerebral palsy, defective spinal cord lay on their back while being fed by care-givers. To them, that is the most convenient way they can be fed.
And that is the way the President of the home, Pastor Mrs Ololade Adamolekun; the Administrator, Mrs Adekunle Funmilayo; the care-givers and therapists had been of tremendous help to the newly married Grace Olufunke Omooba who tied the nuptial knot with Paul Egbezokhai last week.
Mrs. Adamolekun gave Sunday Vanguard details of how the bride got to the home in 2010 even though she had been under her sponsorship since four years earlier.
How the bride was abandoned
She said Olufunke was abandoned at Galilee Foundation where she was taken to after a Mercedez Benz car reportedly dropped her and sped off. The cleric said, “I have been going to the Galilee Foundation for quite some time. It was there I knew about her story. I was moved with pity and since then, 2006, I decided to sponsor her. She went to a school, Ido Faboro School for the Physically Challenged in Ekiti where she was trained for three years. She could only identify and write number one throughout the time she stayed there.
“When I learnt that she was not coping academically, I sent her to a cobbler’s shop to learn, she still could not cope. I then sent her to be trained on how to make nylon where she also couldn’t cope. “Later, we tried tie and dye, but because of the dangerous caustic soda, she could not continue.
“But, when it comes to household chores, she is very good at it. She is very hard working. As big as this compound is, she would sweep it, wash plates and do other things. Due to her efficiency, we nicknamed her, ‘matron’.
Treatment cost of N350,000
“Apart from suffering from cerebral palsy, her right arm is not okay and we tried at a time to carry out surgery on the arm but when we were charged N350,000 just for test, we could not go further because we could not afford it. We don’t know how much it will cost now.
How the children got to the home
“You know, we can’t go to streets to pick abandoned babies without getting approval from the police. All these children were brought to us by their parents, churches, government, missionaries, among others. We have scares of children with various conditions here. We noticed that people and government always take care of older ones, what about these little ones from age zero”.
Care and education of the children
The home has 66 children but only 45 of them are there right now while the remaining are outside the home due to lack of psychotherapy facilites in the home. All the care-givers who stay with the children 24 hours and therapists, including the President of the home, relate with the children to the extent that they(children) don’t want to go their biological parents. This is possible because Adamolekun said she had undergone training that borders on care for physically challenged children.
According to her only five parents visit the home out of the 45 that have children while others have abandoned them and even relocated so that they the home would lose their contacts.
The President said eight of the children had been registered in private schools. Two of them are in secondary school while the remaining are in primary.
She said the children eat five meals a day due to their conditions. “As you can see the care-givers, they can spend three hours feeding just one child. It is not easy feeding them but God is helping us to play our roles as mothers. You have to be patient with them. Like these particular ones, they can’t eat while sitting down because of their spinal cord problem. They have to lie down flat on their back before they can be fed”.
Misconceptions that made parents abandon disabled children
The mother of little Abigael Olasupo died minutes after childbirth and the innocent baby was left at the mercy of his poor father. According to the President of the home, some people believe that when the mother of a baby dies, such a baby is a witch or agent of the devil. “So, the baby was taken to the village of the father. It was the missionaries that went to the village that saw the baby and brought him here with his father”, Adamolekun said.
In the case of Tomiwa Oluwole, a nine-year-old down with tuberculosis of the spine, he was treated but his two legs are stiff due to a problem from the spine. It was double tragedy for him as his only surviving parent is helpless to do anything for him. His father, according to the President of the home, has no accommodation but sleeps in a church. He “even wants to sell his landed property at Osogbo to take care of the boy, but there is no buyer up till now.
Adamolekun said the condition of the boy is treatable but there is no money for his surgery. “He is to undergo surgery. The test alone, according to the doctor, costs N85,000 and we have not been able to get the money.”
Lara Adedeji, a 23-year-old girl who is able to grasp only an English statement,”I didn’t know”, the home is her own paradise where she’s ready to stay till God knows when. When asked if she is willing to leave the home later, she shook her head and when asked why, she gave her usual answer, “I didn’t know”.
‘How I got call from God’
Adamolekun spoke on how she began to take care of physically challenged children: “When I finished from school, College of Education, Ila Orangun, Osun State, I ventured into business and it was a success. So, when I got the call from God, I did not give heed to it. Some pastors also told be that I should heed the divine call of taking care of the physically challenged. I had a fashion design shop at Ajibode which I named Yeside Clothiers Fashion. I had many people that I employed. But, suddenly, burglars struck and carted away all my sewing machines and other equipment. In fact, there was a week when burglars burgled my office three times. So, I was forced out of business. I later went into decoration, but I had nerve problem which made me discontinue with the business.
Still adamant to God’s call, I started a phone centre business in 2003 and I had many centres and everything looked so well. Again, I fell sick and I couldn’t go to work again. Thieves burgled my shops at Osogbo and my worker in Ilorin told me she lost all our equipment in a fatal motor accident. To worsen the situation, I developed kidney problem. It was at this point I surrendered to God. Can you believe that immediately I obeyed God to take care of disabled children, all my health challenges vanished and I am perfectly okay now”.
Two of the care-givers of the centre, Temitope Olaleye and Mrs Atoyebi Bimpe, who spoke on behalf of other workers, said though the task of taking care of the children is enormous and challenging, they are coping. Part of the task, according to them, is that since most of the kids can’t feed or go to toilet on their own, they do potty training and other lessons that would make them useful to themselves and society.
In conclusion, the founder of the home says she spends millions of naira on feeding the children, drugs, treatment and physiotherapy every month. She pleaded with well-meaning individuals and corporate bodies, international organisations like UNICEF and other bodies to help the kids.
“We will humbly request your support in building the destinies of these children. This may be in form of financial or material contribution. You can also join our partners list by choosing from any of the partner plans which can be weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly. Our desperate needs now are to operate on the kids that urgently need it, lands to build befitting and comfortable accommodation for the kids,physiotherapy, sppech therapy for those concerned, food items and toileteries. Your generous donation will be instrumental in providing wonderful care and support for children affected by disability for years to come”. The account details of the home are GTB, name of account- Jesus Kids Home for the Disabled, acct. no. 0131269890 and Diamond Bank, acct. name-Jesus Kids Home for the Disabled, acct. number. 0034057576. The phone number of the founder is 08037212600, E-mail: jesuskids2007@yahoo.com
By Ola Ajayi, Ibadan
“Omije oju mi beere aanure baba, fi aso ojurere wo mi Olorun mi, araye n reti ohun ti mo mubo lodo re baba mimo, Odun yi nlo, odun yi nlo, Omije oju mi n beere aanu ree”, meaning:
Lord, clothe me with garment of favour,
People are anxious to see your presence in my life
The year is about ending,
Father,my teary eyes are praying for your mercy”.
With unsteady dance steps and incoherent voice, this song by Bunmi Akinnanu was the tune that Damilola Temidayo, a 10-year-old cerebral palsy boy, sang. He nearly moved all of us in the home to tears.
Just as the little innocent boy sang, he and others in the home actually deserve mercy. If a person whose heart is made of steel and iron enters Jesus Kids Home for the Disabled, located at Ifelodun Street, Monatan, Iwo Road, Ibadan, he would be moved to tears because of their conditions as some of the kids who have cerebral palsy, defective spinal cord lay on their back while being fed by care-givers. To them, that is the most convenient way they can be fed.
And that is the way the President of the home, Pastor Mrs Ololade Adamolekun; the Administrator, Mrs Adekunle Funmilayo; the care-givers and therapists had been of tremendous help to the newly married Grace Olufunke Omooba who tied the nuptial knot with Paul Egbezokhai last week.
Mrs. Adamolekun gave Sunday Vanguard details of how the bride got to the home in 2010 even though she had been under her sponsorship since four years earlier.
How the bride was abandoned
She said Olufunke was abandoned at Galilee Foundation where she was taken to after a Mercedez Benz car reportedly dropped her and sped off. The cleric said, “I have been going to the Galilee Foundation for quite some time. It was there I knew about her story. I was moved with pity and since then, 2006, I decided to sponsor her. She went to a school, Ido Faboro School for the Physically Challenged in Ekiti where she was trained for three years. She could only identify and write number one throughout the time she stayed there.
“When I learnt that she was not coping academically, I sent her to a cobbler’s shop to learn, she still could not cope. I then sent her to be trained on how to make nylon where she also couldn’t cope. “Later, we tried tie and dye, but because of the dangerous caustic soda, she could not continue.
“But, when it comes to household chores, she is very good at it. She is very hard working. As big as this compound is, she would sweep it, wash plates and do other things. Due to her efficiency, we nicknamed her, ‘matron’.
Treatment cost of N350,000
“Apart from suffering from cerebral palsy, her right arm is not okay and we tried at a time to carry out surgery on the arm but when we were charged N350,000 just for test, we could not go further because we could not afford it. We don’t know how much it will cost now.
How the children got to the home
“You know, we can’t go to streets to pick abandoned babies without getting approval from the police. All these children were brought to us by their parents, churches, government, missionaries, among others. We have scares of children with various conditions here. We noticed that people and government always take care of older ones, what about these little ones from age zero”.
Care and education of the children
The home has 66 children but only 45 of them are there right now while the remaining are outside the home due to lack of psychotherapy facilites in the home. All the care-givers who stay with the children 24 hours and therapists, including the President of the home, relate with the children to the extent that they(children) don’t want to go their biological parents. This is possible because Adamolekun said she had undergone training that borders on care for physically challenged children.
According to her only five parents visit the home out of the 45 that have children while others have abandoned them and even relocated so that they the home would lose their contacts.
The President said eight of the children had been registered in private schools. Two of them are in secondary school while the remaining are in primary.
Mrs Adamolekun
FeedingShe said the children eat five meals a day due to their conditions. “As you can see the care-givers, they can spend three hours feeding just one child. It is not easy feeding them but God is helping us to play our roles as mothers. You have to be patient with them. Like these particular ones, they can’t eat while sitting down because of their spinal cord problem. They have to lie down flat on their back before they can be fed”.
Misconceptions that made parents abandon disabled children
The mother of little Abigael Olasupo died minutes after childbirth and the innocent baby was left at the mercy of his poor father. According to the President of the home, some people believe that when the mother of a baby dies, such a baby is a witch or agent of the devil. “So, the baby was taken to the village of the father. It was the missionaries that went to the village that saw the baby and brought him here with his father”, Adamolekun said.
In the case of Tomiwa Oluwole, a nine-year-old down with tuberculosis of the spine, he was treated but his two legs are stiff due to a problem from the spine. It was double tragedy for him as his only surviving parent is helpless to do anything for him. His father, according to the President of the home, has no accommodation but sleeps in a church. He “even wants to sell his landed property at Osogbo to take care of the boy, but there is no buyer up till now.
Adamolekun said the condition of the boy is treatable but there is no money for his surgery. “He is to undergo surgery. The test alone, according to the doctor, costs N85,000 and we have not been able to get the money.”
Lara Adedeji, a 23-year-old girl who is able to grasp only an English statement,”I didn’t know”, the home is her own paradise where she’s ready to stay till God knows when. When asked if she is willing to leave the home later, she shook her head and when asked why, she gave her usual answer, “I didn’t know”.
‘How I got call from God’
Adamolekun spoke on how she began to take care of physically challenged children: “When I finished from school, College of Education, Ila Orangun, Osun State, I ventured into business and it was a success. So, when I got the call from God, I did not give heed to it. Some pastors also told be that I should heed the divine call of taking care of the physically challenged. I had a fashion design shop at Ajibode which I named Yeside Clothiers Fashion. I had many people that I employed. But, suddenly, burglars struck and carted away all my sewing machines and other equipment. In fact, there was a week when burglars burgled my office three times. So, I was forced out of business. I later went into decoration, but I had nerve problem which made me discontinue with the business.
Still adamant to God’s call, I started a phone centre business in 2003 and I had many centres and everything looked so well. Again, I fell sick and I couldn’t go to work again. Thieves burgled my shops at Osogbo and my worker in Ilorin told me she lost all our equipment in a fatal motor accident. To worsen the situation, I developed kidney problem. It was at this point I surrendered to God. Can you believe that immediately I obeyed God to take care of disabled children, all my health challenges vanished and I am perfectly okay now”.
Two of the care-givers of the centre, Temitope Olaleye and Mrs Atoyebi Bimpe, who spoke on behalf of other workers, said though the task of taking care of the children is enormous and challenging, they are coping. Part of the task, according to them, is that since most of the kids can’t feed or go to toilet on their own, they do potty training and other lessons that would make them useful to themselves and society.
In conclusion, the founder of the home says she spends millions of naira on feeding the children, drugs, treatment and physiotherapy every month. She pleaded with well-meaning individuals and corporate bodies, international organisations like UNICEF and other bodies to help the kids.
“We will humbly request your support in building the destinies of these children. This may be in form of financial or material contribution. You can also join our partners list by choosing from any of the partner plans which can be weekly, monthly, quarterly or yearly. Our desperate needs now are to operate on the kids that urgently need it, lands to build befitting and comfortable accommodation for the kids,physiotherapy, sppech therapy for those concerned, food items and toileteries. Your generous donation will be instrumental in providing wonderful care and support for children affected by disability for years to come”. The account details of the home are GTB, name of account- Jesus Kids Home for the Disabled, acct. no. 0131269890 and Diamond Bank, acct. name-Jesus Kids Home for the Disabled, acct. number. 0034057576. The phone number of the founder is 08037212600, E-mail: jesuskids2007@yahoo.com
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