If the statement "In disability lies strength" were a person, it would be Ann Ojugo. A 50-year-old multiplier who has been in a wheelchair all her life but refused to be a burden to others. She works tirelessly for a community-based organisation that caters to the needs of people with disabilities.
Ann is a source of inspiration for people with and without disabilities in her local community, who have engaged her as a mentor and counsellor. Over the years, however, she realised that she wanted to learn more so that she could advise people with disabilities on career choices. The solution came in June 2022, when the Education Institute qualified more than 150 multipliers* in three states of Nigeria for career guidance activities under the Career Orientation and Job Placement (CoJoP) partnership project with SOS Children's Villages Nigeria. She was one of the 54 multipliers selected for the training programme "Implementation of Career and Vocational Orientation (ICAVO)" in Edo State.
Through the training, Ann became a BIWE-certified counsellor and provided career guidance training and counselling to 30 (12 male and 18 female) out-of-school youth with disabilities. The participants include two visually impaired, five hearing impaired, twenty-three wheelchair users and people with other physical disabilities. After reaching her target of 30 participants, she mentored another 35 people with disabilities who became interested in the programme after hearing about the benefits of counselling from their peers. The career counselling is currently open and offered as needed.
During the process, the young people were supported to set career goals and make informed choices. Ann went a step further and successfully referred participants to a programme supported by the Leprosy Mission to acquire skills in shoemaking, fashion (tailoring), bag making and cosmetology.
Strictly speaking, Ann is not only a source of inspiration for people in her local community. She is also a source of inspiration for us in Germany.
CoJoP is part of the program "Promoting Needs-based Technical and Vocational Education and Training and Youth Employment in Nigeria - SKYE", which is funded by the German Federal Ministry for Development and Economic Cooperation (BMZ) and implemented by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH.
