A World Bank assisted project, Agro-Processing, Productivity Enhancement and Livelihood Support (APPEALS), will see 170 people living with disability in Lagos State being empowered under its Women and Youth sub-component, according to the state project coordinator.
Mrs Oluranti Oviebo, the State Project Coordinator (SPC), told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Lagos during the screening of applicants for the N200 million agricultural input empowerment for 1,700 women and youths.
She said: “Having met with people living with disability, we had a stakeholders meeting where we discovered that they have a lot of passion, but somewhere, somehow, the society has stigmatised them.
“However, working with them, we discovered that there is actually ability in disability, and we want to encourage these ones.
“So, the project is looking at supporting 10 per cent of these ones under the women and youth sub- component, that is, 170 people living with disability such as visual impairment, hearing disability and others will be supported, and they will be selected through a special process without stressing them.”
According to her, the project will carry out a special needs assessment to know exactly how the project can support and assist them.
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Speaking on how the exercise had been, Oviebo said that she wished the project could do more, after seeing how passionate Nigerians were.
She said that all applicants must be screened by Thursday (Sept. 5) and there would be no extension.
NAN reports that the screening started on Monday Sept. 2, while the official opening was held on Tuesday Sept. 3.
450 women and youths were screened daily and the successful applicants would be supported with agricultural inputs and not cash.
The APPEALS project is a four-year project by the World Bank and the Federal Government which kicked off in 2018. (NAN)