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What started as a corporate social responsibility (CSR) visit to encourage students at a little-known school for children with hearing impairment has evolved into a broader intervention to improve learning, safety and inclusion in Surulere, Lagos.
BRIDGEit, through its Include Me Surulere initiative and in collaboration with partners, has renovated parts of Wesley Community School for the Hearing Impaired, fixing leaking roofs, constructing new restrooms, painting classrooms and installing road signs to alert motorists to the presence of persons living with disabilities.
Speaking on behalf of the BRIDGEit Titan House CSR team at the handover ceremony, Adefule Oluwapelumi, said the initiative was driven by the realisation that the school and its students were receiving far less attention than they deserved.
Oluwapelumi, who grew up around the community, said she remembered the school but observed that many people were unaware of its existence and the abilities of its students.
She said the team was particularly encouraged after learning that the students had recently competed against students without hearing impairments and emerged victorious.
“Imagine how much more these students will do with a better learning area and better opportunities,” she said, stressing that children living with disabilities deserved the same attention and opportunities as other children.
According to her, BRIDGEit initially planned to engage and encourage the students but discovered pressing infrastructure needs during its interaction with the school management.
The intervention subsequently expanded to include the repair of leaking roofs and construction of restrooms for a section of the school that previously had none.
Oluwapelumi also disclosed that the school’s ICT room still had obsolete laptops, despite the students’ demonstrated capacity to learn and innovate.
She cited a recent training in which the students learnt to make electronic gloves, describing their performance as an indication of what they could achieve with appropriate technology and support.
The safety component of the project was also prompted by the experience of one of the students, Exodus Okon, who was involved in an accident after he could not hear an approaching bus and the driver was unaware of his hearing impairment.
Oluwapelumi said the newly installed road signs were intended to increase motorists’ awareness that persons living with disabilities also use the roads.
Also speaking, the Secretary to Surulere Local Government, Kehinde Agoro, commended BRIDGEit for complementing government efforts, saying government alone could not meet all the infrastructure and social needs within the community.
He urged businesses in Surulere to identify needs within their immediate communities and deploy their CSR resources towards addressing them.
Agoro particularly highlighted the disparity between public and private primary education in the local government, calling for more interventions to bridge the gap.
“We are willing and ready to partner with organisations within the local government to address these local needs for primary schools and other basic amenities,” he said.
The Baale of Obele-Odan, High Chief Shittu Ademola Onimole, equally called for more businesses and residents to support public schools across Surulere.
Onimole, who said he had been a traditional ruler for about 15 years, described the intervention as exceptional, particularly because it focused on children with hearing impairment.
The school’s Principal, Mrs Elizabeth Oluwayemisi Popoola, remarked that the project had significantly improved the learning environment.
She explained that leaking roofs had previously disrupted lessons whenever it rained, while students in upstairs classrooms had to descend to the lower floor to use the former restrooms.
Popoola said the new facilities would reduce distractions, improve accessibility and create a more conducive environment for learning.
For parents, however, the intervention has also highlighted the longer-term needs of the students.
Meseire Adugosi, whose daughter has attended the school for six years and is currently in Basic 6, expressed appreciation for the intervention but appealed for a school bus and the establishment of a secondary school annex.
She opined that the transition from a specialised primary school to an inclusive secondary school remained a major concern for parents.
Members of the BRIDGEit team include; Ajibola Mustapha – Team Lead, Tobi Emmanuel, Amina Asu-Beks, Ere Ehiaghe, King Amakodi, Pelumi Adefule, Alice Obodom, Tim Ojo, Wahab Gbadamosi, Melvina Anaukwu, and Ugonna Eronini.
