International Youths Day: Youths With Disabilities Must Take Advantage of Technology, Skills Acquisition -Akinrinmade

CEO of Divine Chris Ken Creativity and Founder, Hope Builders for Physically Challenged Foundation, Mrs. Christiana Kehinde Akinrinmade has enjoined youths living with disabilities to take advantage of available technology and vocational skills to enhance their lives and contribute to national development.

Akinrinmade made this call in a release made available to National Wire to mark the 2023 International Youth Day in Lagos recently.

“The youths in any society are the future, therefore must be taken care of and built in order to promote focus and stability for the society,” she said.

Challenging the youths with disabilities, Akinrinmade said, “The youths with disabilities should strive to put in their potentials and abilities to attain their legitimate goals, to attain their aims and future despite their challenges which must not be seen as barriers . They must strive and look at their challenges as their strength rather than their weaknesses.”

Akinrinmade whose NGO has empowered scores of youths with disabilities over the years, however enjoined youths living with disabilities to take advantage of all opportunities around them in terms of training opportunities in order to become who God has created them to be.

“Youths with disabilities should take advantage of the available technology and vocational trainings to upgrade themselves, they should look at their potentials and what value they can add to themselves and make impact to the world rather than begging.

“They should not enforce on pity but on empathy so that they too can contribute to the development of the economy and improve Nigeria’s GDP. The youths can add value for the development of Nigeria,” she said.

Stating further, Akinrinmade said, “Hope Builders for Physically Challenged Foundation encourages all youths despite their disabilities, they can still attain their potentials, strength and future despite whatever challenges.

“As youths with disabilities we should also look for opportunities to compete with other able bodied youths in terms of education, value addition, creating awareness so that the goals and abilities in us can be appreciated despite our challenges. Let us strive to look for opportunities in our challenges rather than begging, let us change that narrative people have that when you have disabilities you are a beggar, let us strive and change that narrative,” she said, wishing all youths with disabilities in Nigeria and world over a happy International Youth Day 2023.

International Youth Day is celebrated globally on 12th August with various activities.

Theme of the 2023 edition is “Green Skills for Youth: Towards a Sustainable World.”

Green skills include knowledge, abilities, values, and attitudes needed to live in, develop and support a sustainable and resource-efficient society, as highlighted by the United Nations.

Story by Dayo Emmanuel