Around 1 billion people, or 15% of the world's population, live with disabilities. Disability rates are significantly higher among groups with lower education levels and in developing countries. Persons with disabilities often face barriers to education, employment, and full inclusion in society. Project Enable, a youth fellowship program, aimed to promote the rights and social inclusion of persons with disabilities in Lagos through community sensitization, empowering persons with disabilities with life and vocational skills, and advocating for their rights.

1. Overview
• Around 15 per cent of the world’s population, or estimated 1
billion people, live with disabilities. They are the world’s largest
minority. (Source UN)
• This figure is increasing through population growth, medical
advances and the ageing process, says the World Health
Organization (WHO).
• In countries with life expectancies over 70 years, individuals
spend on average about 8 years, or 11.5 per cent of their life
span, living with disabilities.
• Eighty per cent of persons with disabilities live in developing
countries, according to the UN Development Programme
(UNDP).
• Disabilityratesaresignificantlyhigheramonggroupswithlower
educational attainment in the countries of the Organisation for
Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), says the
OECD Secretariat. On average, 19 per cent of less educated
people have disabilities, compared to 11 per cent among the
better educated.
• In most OECD countries, women report higher incidents of
disability than men.
• The World Bank estimates that 20 per cent of the world’s
poorest people have some kind of disability, and tend to be
regarded in their own communities as the most disadvantaged.
• Women with disabilities are recognized to be multiply
disadvantaged, experiencing exclusion on account of their
gender and their disability.
• Women and girls with disabilities are particularly vulnerable
to abuse. A small 2004 survey in Orissa, India, found that
virtually all of the women and girls with disabilities were beaten
at home, 25 per cent of women with intellectual disabilities had
been raped and 6 per cent of women with disabilities had been
forcibly sterilized.
• According to UNICEF, 30 per cent of street youths have some
kind of disability.
• Mortality for children with disabilities may be as high as 80
per cent in countries where under-five mortality as a whole
has decreased below 20 per cent, says the United Kingdom’s
DFID, adding that in some cases it seems as if children are
being “weeded out”.
Education
• Ninety per cent of children with disabilities in developing
countries do not attend school, says UNESCO.
• The global literacy rate for adults with disabilities is as low as 3
per cent, and 1 per cent for women with disabilities, according
to a 1998 UNDP study.
• In the OECD countries, students with disabilities in higher
education remain under-represented, although their numbers
are on the increase, says the OECD.
Employment
• An estimated 386 million of the world’s working-age people
have some kind of disability, says the International Labour
Organization (ILO). Unemployment among the persons with
Progress Report
A project of the Civil Liberties Team of the United States Consulate Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative (CYFI). | December 2014
Factsheet on Persons
with Disabilities
Who We Are
We are Fellows of the Civil
Liberties team of the United
States Consulate Carrington
Youth Fellowship Initiative. We believe
that everyone has a right to civil
liberties, and should be given equal
opportunities for self-expression and to
contribute to national development. We
are committed to promoting the rights,
social inclusion and empowerment
of persons living with disabilities in
Lagos state. We also believe that young
people should be at the fore-front of
decision making processes and social
developmental projects that affect
them. Nothing for us without us!
Project Background
A
cording to the Mobility Aid
and Appliances Research
and Development Centre
(MAARDEC), over 15% of
young people of economic productive
age are living with disabilities in
Nigeria. Statistics also show a large
degree of intra and inter personal
stigmatization and discrimination at all
levels against persons with disabilities
(PWDs). These have negatively affected
the social inclusion (expressed by
access to employment, health services,
educationanddecentshelter)ofpersons
with disability. This striking statistics
is evidently true for Lagos state where
lots of young persons with disabilities
engageinactivities such asdruguseand
abuse, street begging and hooliganism.
It is therefore important to mobilize
empathic support, empowerment and
advocacy for the social inclusion of
persons with disabilities while engaging
young persons with disabilities to
lead the desired change. Various
interventions targeted at persons with
disabilities have failed because they
have been implemented without the
active participation of young members
of the community.
Goal
Promoting the Rights and Social
Inclusion of Persons with disabilities in
Lagos state
Objectives
1. To promote community
sensitization and advocacy for the
rights and social inclusion of persons
with disabilities through social media,
active stakeholders’ engagement and
production of a documentary that will
profile the life, challenges and success
stories of persons with disabilities in
Lagos state.
2. To enlighten persons with
disabilities on their rights, equipping
them with employability, advocacy and
life skills towards repositioning them
for better participation/integration in
the society.
3. To directly empower young
persons with disabilities with
vocational and entrepreneurial skills,
andshowcasetheirtalentsandproducts
through organized exhibitions.
Protecting the Rights and Social Inclusion of People With Disabilities
About Project Enable

2. T
hroughthegenerousfundingsupportof
the United States Consulate Carrington
Youth Fellowship Initiative and other
in-kind support from individuals and
organizations, Project Enable was able to carry
out the following activities in 2014:
1st Stakeholders’ Forum
On Thursday, July 31st, 2014, we hosted a
stakeholders’ engagement forum with the theme:
“Mobilizing Community Collaboration towards
an Inclusive Society: Challenges, Success Stories
and Best Practices.” It was a very huge success as
wehosted35stakeholdersfromthecommunityof
persons with disabilities in Lagos state at Action
Health Inc. multipurpose Hall, Yaba. Our guests
included representatives from the Lagos State
Office for Disability Affairs, the Lagos chapter
of the Joint National Association of Persons
with Disabilities (JONAPWDS), National
Association of the Blind (NAB), Anglo Nigeria
Welfare Association of the Blind (ANWAB),
Disability Policy Advocacy Initiative, University
of Lagos chapter of the National Association of
Visually Impaired Students, etc. Presentations
were made by Mr Boye of Theseabilities Ltd
and Ms Yinke Ige of Center for Citizens with
Disabilities, Lagos.
First Workshop for Young Persons with
Disabilities
On Saturday, August 30th, 2014, we hosted
the first workshop for young persons with
disabilities. The workshop had over 50 people
in attendance and took place in Yaba, Lagos.
Participants included students from the
University of Lagos and Modupe Cole Memorial
Home, and others from the ASHA initiative. The
facilitators at the event were Mr. Boye Abioye
of TheseAbilities Ltd, Mr. Okon David, the
Chairman of the Nigeria Association of the Blind
and Mr. Aruosa Osemwegie, a leading human
resource consultant in Lagos. The facilitators
engaged the participants on the importance
and ways of developing employability and
advocacy skills. The event was spiced by various
activities which included a song presentation; a
drama presentation, and a talk on the national
perspective on disabilities by Akande Akin,
from Modupe Cole Memorial Home, Yaba. To
wrap up the event, Mr. Aruosa gave copies of his
books to participants free of charge.
Community Sensitization via
(Traditional and Social) Media
In July, we launched our website, www.
projectenable.org.ng. The goal of the website
is to be an online resource center for issues
concerning persons with disabilities in Nigeria.
As at November, the website has had over 1000
hits. We also launched our Facebook page:
Project Enable; and Twitter handle: @Project_
Enable.
In achieving our objectives of sensitizing the
Lagos community on issues concerning persons
with disabilities, we have featured on several
radio programs such as RadioContinental,
RadioOne, etc. Through these platforms, we
engage the public on how to empathize, instead
of sympathizing with persons with disabilities.
We also use the social media handles for this
purpose. So far, we have published articles
which includes: “Gender Inequality and the
Burden of disability: A Double Encumbrance of
Discrimination ”, “ Exploitation, A grim Reality
of Females with Disability”, and “Against All
Odds; I Won’t Quit Now” a true life story of
Ngozi Upkai-Okoro, a CYFI Fellow and member
of the Project Enable Team.
The Vocational and Entrepreneurial
Skill Acquisition Program (VESAP):
The vocational skill program which was earlier
scheduled to hold in September, eventually
took place in October. The program was
targeted at empowering young persons with
disabilities in Yaba and Surulere communities.
It took place from Monday 23th, to Friday 31st,
October, 2014 at the Akinwunmi Youth Center,
Alagomeji, Yaba. Registration for the program
started in September and about 37 young
persons with disabilities registered to participate
in the training. However, due to limited spaces,
only about 20 persons were admitted into the
program. Participants include persons with
disabilities from the national stadium, Modupe
Cole Memorial Home and students from tertiary
institutions in Yaba. The skills taught during
the program include Ankara accessories, Bead
making and Baking. Lunch was made available
to participants daily and they all got some
materials and instruments to enable them start
practicing their newly learnt skills respectively.
Mr. Abioye of Theseabilities Ltd partnered with
the program and he taught the participants on
entrepreneurship principles such as starting and
running small business, financing and product
packaging.
Commemoration of the International
Day of Persons with Disabilities.
(December 3rd & 4th)
Following the Decades of Disabled Persons held
from 1983 to 1992, December 3rd every year
was set aside by the United Nations for global
observance of the International Day of Persons
with Disabilities. First observed in 1992, the goal
is to re-affirm and draw attention to the rights of
persons who live with disabilities.
This year’s International Day for Persons with
Disability was commemorated by Project Enable
with a Street Walk that was led by the renowned
human rights activist, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin
and Mr. Adeboye Abioye of TheseAbilities
Foundation. The walk which started at the
National Stadium and ended at the Surulere
Local Govt Secretariat from 8:30 to about 10am.
The event was well attended by members of the
WelfareAssociationforDisabledpeople,theband
of the Bethesda School for the Blind, The director
and members of the Anglo Nigeria Association
for the Blind, media organizations and other
stakeholders of the community of Persons with
Disabilities in Lagos state. Informative materials
were distributed during the walk. Report of the
walk was covered and featured by diferent media
mediaorganizationswhichincludesNTA,Sahara
reporters, Radio Nigeria, The Nation, National
Mirror, Newswatch, Leadership, Vanguard, etc.
Also, on Thursday, December 4, 2014, Project
hosted an event at the National Stadium,
Surulere to celebrate the International Day of
Persons with Disabilities with members of the
Disabled Sportsmen Welfare Association and
Para-Olympics. The theme of the event was:
Mobilizing Community Collaboration towards
and Inclusive Society. The event was aimed
at discussing issues concerning community
support for persons with disabilities. It was
also an opportunity to sensitize participants on
the ongoing Independent National Electoral
Commission processes towards 2015 elections.
Speakers at the events includes: Mr Adeboye
Abioye, Executive Director, TheseAbilities
Foundation; and Ms Abimbola Junaid, a
Development Practitioner and President of
Arise For All Initiative.
Progress Report

3. disabilities is as high as 80 per cent in some
countries. Often employers assume that
persons with disabilities are unable to work.
• A 2004 United States survey found that only
35 per cent of working-age persons with
disabilities are in fact working, compared to
78 per cent of those without disabilities. Two-
thirds of the unemployed respondents with
disabilities said they would like to work but
could not find jobs.
• A 2003 study by Rutgers University found that
people with physical and mental disabilities
continue to be vastly underrepresented in the
U.S. workplace. One-third of the employers
surveyed said that persons with disabilities
cannot effectively perform the required job
tasks. The second most common reason given
for not hiring persons with disabilities was the
fear of costly special facilities.
• Companies report that employees with
disabilities have better retention rates,
reducing the high cost of turnover, says a 2002
U.S. study. Other American surveys reveal that
after one year of employment, the retention
rate of persons with disabilities is 85 per cent.
• Thousands of persons with disabilities have
been successful as small business owners,
according to the U.S. Department of Labor.
The 1990 national census revealed that persons
with disabilities have a higher rate of self-
employment and small business experience
(12.2percent)thanpersonswithoutdisabilities
(7.8 per cent).
Violence
• For every child killed in warfare, three are
injured and acquire a permanent form of
disability.
• Insomecountries,uptoaquarterofdisabilities
result from injuries and violence, says WHO.
• Persons with disabilities are more likely to be
victims of violence or rape, according to a 2004
British study, and less likely to obtain police
intervention, legal protection or preventive
care.
• Research indicates that violence against
children with disabilities occurs at annual
rates at least 1.7 times greater than for their
peers without disabilities.
InNovember1989,theUnitedNationsGeneral
Assembly adopted the Convention on the
Rights of the Child, making it the first human
rights treaty that contained specific reference
to disability and a separate article exclusively
dedicated to the rights and needs of children
with disabilities (UN, 2006a:2)
Factsheet on Persons with Disabilities cont’d.
Some of Our Program Outputs:
• We have directly empowered 20 young
persons with disabilities with vocational
and entrepreneurial skills and supported
some to start and run their businesses.
• We have empowered over 65 young
persons with disabilities with various
forms of employability skills in
preparation for employment.
• We have reached an estimate of
over 50,000 people with messages
of inclusiveness and best practices
in relating and communicating with
persons with disabilities in the society
through our media campaigns.
• Wehavecontributedtothestrengthening
of the community of Persons with
Disabilities in Lagos through our
Stakeholders’ Forum.
• We provide continuous business
support and mentorship to persons with
disabilities who run their own micro and
small businesses.

4. For enquiries contact us: +234 806 061 5727, +234 813 775 5662
info@projectenable.org.ng, www.projectenable.org.ng
Facebook Page: Project Enable, Twitter: Project_Enable
About CYFI
The Carrington Youth Fellowship Initiative
(CYFI) seeks to develop a select group of young
Nigerians into ethical and impactful leaders by
connecting them with mentorship, networking,
training and funding opportunities over the
course of an intensive fellowship year. The
CYFI fellowship is built around year-long social
innovative projects that are designed by fellows
and supported by the U.S. Consulate and private
partners. Following successful completion of
their projects, fellows remain involved with
CYFI and the U.S. Consulate through the CYFI
Alumni Program. Former U.S. Ambassador to
Nigeria, Walter Carrington, was a champion of
civilliberties,democracyandclosertiesbetween
the U.S. and Nigeria. More information about
the program can be found at www.cyfinigeria.
org
Application is presently opened for new set of
2015 fellows of the program.
To whom much is given, so much more
is expected. We appreciate the United
States Consulate Carrington Youth
Fellowship Initiative for sponsoring and
mentoring this project. We, the fellows of the
Civil Liberties Team, are grateful for such an
awesome opportunity.
We also appreciate the following individual
and organization for their generous support:
• HACEYHealthInitiative(HostOrganization)
• Mr Boye Abioye, TheseAbilitiea Ltd,
• The Lagos State Office for Disability Affairs,
• Dr. Esiet Uwem and the entire staff of Action
Health Incorporated,
• Dr. Shehu Adebayo
• Joint National Association of Persons With
Disabilities, JONAPWD
• Mr Akinola and the members of the Nigerian
Association of the Blind, NAB
• National Association of Visually Impaired
Students, University of Lagos
• Anglo Nigeria Welfare Association for the
Blind, ANWAB
• Modupe Cole Memorial Home, Yaba
• The Ministry of Youth and Sports
Development (Akinwunmi Youth Centre)
• Social and Economic Right Action Center,
SERAC
• Mr. Victor and Talk Naija production crew of
Radio Continental, Ketu, Lagos
• Disability Policy Advocacy Initiative, DPAI
• Ms. Ige and the entire staff of CCD
• Mr. Aruosa Osemwegie
• Mr David Okon
• Ms Abimbola Juniad
APPRECIATIONS TO
Our Supporters