Don’t hide kids with Down Syndrome, Mordi tells parents

The National President, Down Syndrome Foundation, Mrs. Rose Mordi, has called on parents, care givers and guardians to stop hiding  children  and adults living with Down Syndrome from the society.
Mordi,  who made this call when the foundation paid a “thank you” visit, to the Corporate Headquarters of Punch Newspapers, The Punch Place in  Magboro, Ogun State on Tuesday, said that many parents  discriminate against children living with Down Syndrome  and other disabilities due to shame and ignorance about the nature of the disorder.
She noted that the only way to eliminate stigmatisation against people living with DS and other disabilities was the enactment of a law that would integrate them into the society.
Mordi said, “We still have many parents who are ashamed to come out that they have children with DS especially our elites. They do not want anybody to know because of their ego so they lock them inside or take them out of the country and pretend that they did not have them.
“But if government has law, policies and makes provisions that could socially integrate them into the society, these special people will not be seen as strange persons,” she said.
Mordi, who founded the organisation 11 years ago, said the major challenge facing the development of the foundation was lack of sustainable funding from government, individuals and corporate organisations.
This, she said, has been making it difficult for the foundation to execute projects that would enhance the welfare of children with DS.
“We plan to establish vocational and educational centres for people living with DS like the one in Lagos in other five geo-political zones in the country, where parents and affected persons could seek assistance on how to better manage their conditions but lack of funds has been impeding this idea,” she said.
She explained that the expansion project became imperative because facilities at the Lagos centre were not enough to cope with the large number of people that required the foundation services across the country.
Mordi said in spite of its lean resources the foundation had sponsored the corrective surgical operation of over 20 children living with DS who developed congenital and cardiovascular diseases in hospitals abroad.
She called on the Federal Government to grant special financial aid to people living with disability in general and DS in particular. This call, she said, should be taken seriously because researches had shown that one out of every 800 new born children suffered from DS.
She said,“About 65 per cent of children with DS will have hole in their hearts and other congenital problems that will require surgery that are not presently done in Nigeria. How do we sponsor their surgeries and ensure that they live if there is no provision for their medical needs?”
Mordi, a parent of a child living with DS, called on the Federal Government to sign into law the disability bill before it so as to provide legal grounds that would ensure that provisions are made for the wellbeing of people living with DS.
“There is no difference between a child with DS and any other child. Government must accept them by signing this bill into law to show that they care. We have had persons with DS in our foundation that represented Nigeria at the last Special Olympics in Athens and  then won  medals. Let us not waste the talent in them,” she added.