PLWDs TO BENEFIT FROM SPECIAL PILGRIMAGE NEXT YEAR.
The Executive Secretary, Nigerian Christian Pilgrim Commission (NCPC), Reverend Tor Uja says the Commission will begin a special pilgrimage for People Living with Disabilities (PLWDs) next year. Reverend Uja made this known when he met with the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Disability Matters, Dr. Samuel Ankeli in Abuja.
The Executive Secretary emphasized the roles of government and the church in tackling the challenges facing persons living with disabilities, saying that the church had a bigger role to play. He called on the Church to draw out an outreach programme for this vulnerable group within the country.
According to him, the Commission is currently organizing pilgrimage for the senior citizens. He advised the Senior Special Assistant to put his team together and interface with the Commission for mutual benefits.
Responding, Dr. Ankeli explained that there were about twenty-five million Nigerians living with different disabilities. He was of the view that the rights of persons living with disabilities are being violated, saying that they should be allowed to occupy positions of relevance in the scheme of things.
He called for the establishment of a commission for persons living with disabilities, saying a bill was before the National Assembly to that effect.
Meanwhile, the Coordinator, Initiative for Eradication of Poverty and Empowerment of the Disabled, IFEPED, Mr Victor Ugwu wants vocational centers to be established for physically challenged persons to develop their potentials. Mr Ugwu made the appealed when he led members of the association, made up of physically challenged persons on a courtesy visit to the Archbishop of Enugu Ecclesiastical Province, Anglican Communion, the Most Reverend Emmanuel Chukwuma in Enugu.