Live Your Life the Way You Want It

The Divine Foundation for Disabled Persons, an organization for and by persons with disabilities set up for empowerment of persons living with different forms of disabilities held an empowerment workshop for women and men living with disabilities in Lagos, Nigeria. The workshop titled “Live Your Life the Way You Want It” held from September 30 through October 2 initially targeted only women with disabilities, the workshop ended up training two men in addition to the ten women initially planned for.

Busayo Obisakin, a World Pulse 2009 VOF Correspondence was the resource person. Busayo is a graduate of Empowerment Institute, New York and presently a Guidance Counsellor at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife in Osun State, Nigeria. Busayo lectured participants on the following: Pathology to Vision; Definitions and Exploring Growing Edges; Personal Power; Inner Soil Test; Affirmation / Visualization; Growing Edges Facilitation; Knowing Ourselves the More; and Creating Our Networks. Participants were empowered on how to take care of their health, family and life issues. Through the three-day workshop, Busayo had an opportunity of coming close to persons with disabilities. She was amazed at the level of articulation and warmth exhibited by participants.Busayo was overwhelmed with joy feeling the warmth, the excitement and appreciation on the faces of participants.

Celine Osukwu, the founder of Divine Foundation for Disabled Persons organized and hosted the workshop. Celine stated that reason behind the initial plan for empowering only women in this pioneer workshop is because women are more in need of the empowering contents of the workshop. Her reason is that the daily challenges which immeasurably weigh women down psychologically are experienced triple times by women living with disabilities. Disabled Persons are more traumatized psychologically than the able-bodied persons. And because the challenges are heightened by disability status, women with disabilities need more empowerment to be able to tackle the peculiar difficulties they face in everyday living. Celine was happy that the goal of the workshop was achieved, it was a huge success.

The Divine Foundation wishes to express gratitude to all pulse wire sisters as well as the world pulse team whose support and prayers motivated the organizing of this important workshop. The Foundation sincerely appreciates Busayo for traveling all the way to Lagos and for spending the time associating with these special people.

The Divine Foundation hopes to organize another workshop for another group of women who are presently undergoing one-year rehabilitation at the Nigerian Society for the Blind in Lagos. These women so much need the empowerment to be able to live their lifes again.