GROWING up in her Idoma-speaking village in Benue State, little Ada Sule was full of dreams, just like her peers then. She, unarguably, had lots of goals that she planned to achieve when she eventually grew up and she was determined to ensure that her life aspirations were realised. Such, indeed, was her vision.Ada, who is now 32 years old, was born a very healthy child into the family of Mr and Mrs Abu Sule. In fact, like all firstborns in every family, she was the pride and joy of her parents. However, that joy was shortlived as the little Ada became physically challenged at the age of 11.At 11, Ada became ill and was rushed to a local clinic where she was diagnosed with malaria. Part of the treatment administered by the clinic was an injection. Hopes were high that the medical treatments would be able to restore her to full health situation again but that, unfortunately, did not come to pass.It was both a shock and a surprise, not only to the little Ada, but also to members of her family, friends and other playmates that as she was beginning to respond to treatment, she was losing feeling in her left leg.Of course, she did what was expected of her as she complained to her father. Her father aptly took her back to the clinic.At the clinic, the medical team did all it could to save the situation. It was sad, however, that their efforts could not yield any positive fruits as the 11-year old girl later completely lost the use of her left leg.This threw the family into confusion. It could not be understood how she could live the rest of her life disabled. The fact that she was the first child and a female could not help but throw the family members into agony.Considering that her mother, who was petty trader, could barely manage to feed her and her younger ones, Ada had to learn very early in life to take care of herself and support her mother. To achieve that goal, she took to plaiting of womens hair, and with the proceeds, she bought a few books and practically taught herself to read and write.As weeks turned into months and months into years, the reality enveloped and finally dawned on her that special people like her would have to work twice as hard to achieve their goals in life. But the difficulty at the time, was how she as could move around with ease as she relied on her family for mobility.Be that as it may and quite undeterred, the young Ada acquired the necessary skill in braiding. Again, sadly enough, mobility was a huge factor as she could only work at the front of her home.The situation naturally placed restriction on her ability to expand her income. Besides, living in a rural area did not help her case as well.But in the bid to enhance her earnings, Ada relocated to Abuja, where she put up with her younger sister and continued to support herself by making peoples hair at home. The relocation, on its own, threw up its own challenges. Apart from lacking the financial wherewithal to rent a shop which is unexceptionally high in the nations capital city, there was also the challenge of getting to work and coming back home without aid.Ada told The Nigerian Tribune that at a point, she had to rely on people for food and movement. She said that at a point, a metal had to be put in her leg to enable her move with a walking stick.I dont see my disability as an excuse to be lazy. I am hard working and Im convinced I can earn as much as anyone in my line of business who does not have any disability, she added.Even while battling to get life going and become independent of people around her, she told The Nigerian Tribune that she had always been longing to be in a position to ask her mother to stop labouring to keep body and soul together at her age. Her wish was that if her mother would still be engaged in petty trading, it should not be because she would starve if she did not do it.As providence would have it, Ada recently emerged as one of the 5,000 beneficiaries of the MTN Foundation Disability Support Project (DSP), where she was given a pair of crutches to aid her movement.Twelve months down the line, fortune also smiled on her again, as she was selected to benefit from the MTN micro-finance scheme, whereby the Foundation gave loans to 20 beneficiaries to assist them in enhancing their businesses, acquiring required tools and optimising their income. The scheme, in its pilot phase, also includes accounting and management training for beneficiaries to help them manage their businesses successfully.Speaking on the scheme, a director in the Foundation, Mr. Akinwale Goodluck, said that the Foundation introduced the scheme specifically to further empower people with physical disabilities. According to him, the first step was to provide them with appliances to aid their mobility and functionality.According to Mr Goodluck, 10, 000 of such special people from the six geo-political zones of the country have been provided with mobility aids and appliances in the first two phases of the DSP.He said, As a second layer of assistance, we introduced the micro-finance scheme, a platform under which those of them who have special skills will be helped to set up their own small businesses.Many of the Foundations Disability Support Project beneficiaries who possess different vocational skills ranging from tailoring to hair dressing, lack the financial wherewithal to establish decent businesses. The MTN micro-credit scheme would enable such people to stand on their feet in their chosen vocations.The scheme will be in two phases; the training phase, where they will be trained on simple book keeping and accounting procedures to enable them manage their businesses, and the empowerment phase wherein their shops will be equipped with necessary tools of trade.CSR is an integral part of MTNs business strategy. We will continue to roll out more of these social projects aimed at improving the quality of life in our various communities. We only appeal to our subscribers to continue to support us. It is their support that has enabled us to achieve what we have so far. With their continued support, we can do much more, he added.
Click here to read full news..
