Rotary Club, Lagos, District 9110, with support from the United States (Crutches for Africa), has donated mobility aids, to assist passengers at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA) who have mobility challenges.
The mobility aids comprise 10 wheelchairs, five crutches, five walking sticks and five walkers.
The president, Rotary Club, Lagos, Rotarian Joseph Akhigbe, who disclosed this during the presentation of the mobility aids to the Federal Airport Authority of Nigeria (FAAN), at the new international airport terminal, on Monday, in Lagos, said the donation is a humanitarian service to assist passengers especially those living with disability.
He said, “The reason for choosing the airport as beneficiary of the mobility aids was because the distance from the car park to the departure room is always very far, making it difficult for people living with disability to navigate the area. We are making this donation to FAAN for the benefit of passengers, especially those that have mobility challenge like people with disabilities, the aged, pregnant women and any passengers who need mobility assistance at the airport. We are giving them 10 wheelchairs, five crunches and five walking sticks among others,’’ he said.
Speaking on the next step, Akhigbe said Rotary Club will be donating mobility aids to communities and Primary Health Care Centres in Lagos and Ogun states, who will benefit maximally from this humanitarian service.
Director of Rotary Foundation, Rotarian UK Eke said the Club interconnect people and advance the course of humanity, even as he disclosed that the airport creates the means for people to travel from one place to another, and as such it is not a surprise that the club has picked the Airport as one of the beneficiaries of the donation of mobility aids.
He said, ‘‘As we travel across airports, we see facilities that are available to passengers that aid their mobility, of which, most of them are not available at the Nigeria airport. Rotary Club is well positioned to support passengers, to create smooth access and smooth mobility as they use our airport. From the departure room to the car pack, we want to support the new international airport with mobility aids,” Eke said.
In response, the managing director, FAAN, Captain Rabiu Hamisu Yadudu thanked the Rotary Club for the donation, while assuring that, it will help to alleviate the flights of passengers, especially those who are physically challenged.
Yadudu who was represented by the director, Commercial and Business Development, FAAN, Mr Sadiku Rafindadi, said, “On behalf of FAAN and our passengers who are using the airport, I say a big thank you to the donation of wheelchairs and other mobility aids. I assure you that they will be placed at various locations to assist passengers who are physically challenged, the aged, pregnant women and any passengers who need mobility assistance.”
