No few than 100 Persons With Disabilities (PWDs) would benefit from a two-day financial literacy training organized by Inclusive Friends Association with support from Disability Rights Fund (DRF).
Grace Jerry, the Executive Director of IFA in her welcome remarks during the event, said the programme is designed to equip Persons With disabilities with digital skills for better livelihoods.
Represented by Mirian Tim-Timat, the Human Resources Manager of IFA, Jerry, said the training was necessitated by the result of a research which showed that greater percentage of persons with disabilities lack requisite digital skills for optimal performance in work places.
She said the training was scheduled for two seasons, stressing that 50 persons are currently taking part in the season one which is ongoing while another set of 50 would come later.
“We are looking at equipping them with digital marketing skills to be able to sell their products effectively and to compete with other counterparts, or other colleagues that do not have disabilities. They are going to talk about Microsoft skills, presentation skills, and others things that would help persons with disabilities to participate fully, and improve their lives even at work places, so that, that gap of dormancy is eliminated. And their finances and income is being improved upon” she said.
Peter Akunnusi, Head of Programme, Techherng, the Resource person at the workshop expressed optimism that the participants would benefit immensely from the training.
According to him, the world today is constantly increasing innovations in terms of connections, capacities, even as the economy is being revolutionized by digital technology, hence the capacity building would ensure inclusivity among PWDs with regards to the growing advances in technology.
“The idea is to be able for us in conjunction with Inclusive Friends Association, and Disability Rights Fund, is to be able to provide an avenue where we can have members of the PWDs build up their digital skills, learning various skills that is necessary, including digital marketing, copywriting, including the use of tools such as the Microsoft environment, Google workspace environment, the ability to access remote jobs, so that they themselves could be able to thrive and do well in the society, especially when it comes to digital economy” he said.
Also speaking, Mr. Theophilus Odaodu, the Program Manager, West Africa, for the Disability Rights Fund, stated that the workshop is very important because there is a digital gap among persons with disabilities and persons without disabilities.
According to him, it is very important to bridge that gap especially for the youth population hence there is concerted efforts to promote full participation.
Odaodu said the workshop would make the beneficiaries more competitive among their contemporaries because after the training they will have the knowledge, and skills, and would be able to interact with assistive technology to operate the digital world.
One of the beneficiaries, Ugochi Nwadike, described the workshop as an eye-opener that has helped her to know about new technology that would help the her on a daily basis.
