Punuka Foundation holds charity walk for special children

Poised to create awareness for the need of special children, the second edition of the Punuka Foundation Walk for “Super Special Children” will be held on May 4, 2024, in Lagos and Abuja.

The Guardian learnt that it will take off in Lagos at 7:00am from Layi Yusuf Street, Lekki Phase 1 (beside Zenith Bank), through Admiralty Way and terminate at PUNUKA Attorneys & Solicitors office at Oyibo Adjarho Street, Lekki Phase 1.

Also, the take-off point in Abuja is Punuka Attorneys & Solicitors office at 9A, Freetown Street Wuse 2, and will terminate at the Eagle Square, Federal Secretariat.

Speaking about the event, Executive Secretary and Trustee of the Foundation, Mrs Elizbeth Idigbe, said the walk is intended to create awareness of the need to provide support and equitable opportunity for super special children to maximise their potential.

According to her, every child with special needs is uniquely talented but requires the right support and environment to showcase his life and make impact.

“Corporate organisations and well-meaning individuals are expected to participate in the walk,” she said.

The Punuka Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation established to pursue the objective of helping the needy in society.

It focuses on people with developmental needs such as autism, down syndrome, cerebral palsy, Attention Deficient Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and related conditions.

The Foundation, founded by Chief Anthony Idigbe (SAN) and Mrs Idigbe, has since its inception, pursued its core objective of helping children with special needs to maximise their potential in life.

It has achieved this through its numerous programmes, including sponsorship of early interventions, therapy sessions, training/ sensitisation programmes for caregivers and parents of special children and regular charity visits to special homes in major cities across Nigeria.

It offers yearly subvention to homes, provides food items, learning materials and therapy tools and has reconstructed classrooms and toilet facilities, as well as provided ramps for easy access for challenged persons.

The foundation also provides needed facilities and items for some non-special needs institutions yearly.

In line with its vision, the foundation recently completed and inaugurated an ultra-modern, purpose-built Childcare Centre with a weekday boarding facility and capacity to accommodate over 50 children with varying developmental needs.

The facility is equipped with modern tools, sensory-motor tools and other learning aids as well as the right mix of therapists (occupational, behavioural, language/ speech), assessors, resident nurses, and a complement of other staff who work together to ensure the actualisation of the developmental goals of the super special children.