Sultana Nabilah’s Cerebral Palsy Foundation (SNCPF), a not-for-profit organisation focused on caring for teens and adults with neurological conditions, has unfurled plans to build an “inclusive village” for teens with special care.
The organisation revealed the plan at its launch in Lagos on Wednesday.
SNCPF is an NGO created in the name of Nabilah, a 15-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, and it aims to provide holistic life for special care people.
According to Akeem Oyetunde, chairman of the organisation’s Board of Trustees, although SNCPF was established in the name of Nabilah, it was created to provide a care net for other people living with disabilities (PWDs).
He added that the organisation is ready to make the world a better place for people of special care.
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“It’s called Nabilah foundation, but it’s not for Nabilah. It is for millions of Nabilah’s out there. And while people like Nabilah are fortunate to have wonderful parents and access to care, there are many people out there who do not,” he said.
“We are using Nabilah as a point of this initiative to reach as many people as planned. So if indeed we can touch a hundred lives with this initiative, we would have done our part and made this world a better place.”
On her part, Raliat Oyetunde, the executive secretary of the organisation’s Board of Trustees, said the inclusive village would include purpose-built studio flats, 18 2-bedroom apartments, a recreation and therapy hall, an office building, spaces for entrepreneurial activities, a cinema, laundry and green areas.
She added that a minimum of 2000 sqm would be needed for the project on the mainland of Lagos for easy accessibility to the metropolis.
“Nabilah is currently in a boarding school, among peers with similar conditions and she is thriving in this environment.
“Now, she’s turned 15 and we thought about where would she want to be when she finish school, then we said we need to build a community for her. For millions of people like her, let’s put together a community for them and that was how we started. We are here to share a common goal of hope for these special people of determination.”
Speaking at the launch, Denike Oyetunde-Lawal, Senior Special Assistant to the Lagos State Governor on PWDs, harped on the importance of the proposed facilities while assuring the commitment of the state government to the initiative.
“There’s a genuine worry of exclusion of people with disabilities from the rest of the society but then if there’s not knowing how will adapt until we try. SNCPF will definitely hear from the Lagos state government,” she said.
On her part, Mary Akpobome, a member of the organisation’s board of trustees, said the initiative will not only proffer a thriving environment for PWDs but it also will allow creative bloom and brilliance.
She then pledged N15 million to the cause.
SNCPF made an open call for partners and donors to the project, and interested parties can reach them at [email protected]
