By Omotunde Alawode
Ikoyi Lions Club, Lagos, has donated learning materials and household items to Resource Centre for the Blind in Alagomaji, Yaba area of the state.
Chairperson of the committee and first Vice President of the club, Grace Nene Osunwa, said the donation was part of the club’s activities for 2021/2022.
Items donated were microwave, washing machine, toasting machine, food items, spiral binding machine, Braille papers, printers and scanners. Others were televisions, inverters, radio, teaching aids such as musical instruments, tables, chairs, and table tennis, blind chess and ludo for outdoor games.
Visiting the centre with Moeitt Adeola, member of the committee to carry out needs assessment, Osunwa said: “The centre commenced operations in June 202. There are over 20 sight-impaired students at the centre.”
They also held talks with the centre’s Director, Temitayo Ayinla Omotola, and some of her staff members on further mutual relationship between the two parties.
“After a careful review, the committee prioritised the needs and also resolved to assist the centre with a drum set and hope to solve more needs in the near future as this would serve as the beginning of an enduring partnership between the centre and Lagos Ikoyi Lions Club.
“Lionism is about the five global causes we are involved in, namely: feeding the hungry, paediatric cancer, environment, diabetes, and vision.
“Vision has been an area that Lions Clubs International has been involved in the past 100 years of its existence and this motivation was inspired by Helen Keller.
The President, Abdulkarim Yusuf, before handing over the donated items, talked about the importance of music in the life of the blind both as a therapy (emotional balance) and also as a possible form of future professional orientation, even as he assured the director of the centre an enduring partnership.
Omotola and the students could not hide their joy as they appreciated the club’s kind gesture. She promised the items donated would be used judiciously, particularly for the benefit of the students.