MISS ANI CHINYERE RUTH hails from Nkanu West Local Government Area of Enugu State, Nigeria. When she was still very young, her parents told her they took her to various hospitals for medical treatment, hoping for remedy which did not come. She managed to complete her primary school education, but because of their humble financial position which her parents faced coupled with her physical challenge, she could not go further. She said she was not aware that persons with disability, like in her own case, could learn any trade.
She narrated it this way: “I felt that my health condition would recline me to begging. I was lucky when I heard that people with diverse disabilities – the blind, deaf and mute, physically challenged – are trained in Bina Foundation Skills Acquisition Centre without charge. I said in my heart that I will not fail to take this singular opportunity to improve myself.
During the orientation exercise for new students, I received counseling which positively changed my negative thinking about life. Consequently, I registered in the Catering / Fast Food Department. I was surprised to see other people with disability at the Foundation and in different departments. I started socializing with people, and making friends. The entire staff of Bina Foundation are wonderful. They regard everybody as their brothers and sisters. There is no discrimination or isolation of persons with disability at Bina Foundation as opposed to what is commonly seen in the society. It is also amazing that while the country is currently facing some economic hardship, Bina Foundation continues to offer free training programs to thousands of persons with special needs. It is also surprising to me that the Foundation fed beneficiaries throughout our training period. Our transportation was as well free. I received medical treatment free of charge.
At the moment, I am proficient in baking cake, preparing chin-chin, meatpie, fishroll, etc. Bina Foundation has restored in me the lost confidence. I now know that I can make it. May God Almighty bless Bina Foundation and touch the heart of the government and philanthropists in Nigeria and the world over to work in partnership with the foundation for the sake of persons with special needs.”