A seasoned businesswoman, Omotayo Bakare lives in the Agege area of Lagos. The 48-year-old gave birth to her fourth child in 2012, who happens to be her first daughter.
After she had her daughter, her baby was diagnosed with Down syndrome.
According to Mrs Bakare, who owns a pure water factory in Lagos, giving adequate time and care to her baby’s special needs took a toll on her work-life balance.
Yet, she sacrificed more time to provide extra attention and care for her daughter. At some time, she enrolled her daughter in a Montessori School. But, there, Favour experienced neglect and discrimination from her school handlers.
‘‘Favour is the only child with Down syndrome among her siblings. While she was growing up, it was kind of challenging because she needed special attention, and not everyone would understand her.
‘’I own a pure water factory in Agege, and my husband is retired. Caring for her has cost me a lot but I thank God for everything. At first, her Dad and I thought of hiring a maid to help us look after her. At the same time, we had to give it a thought because people can be funny – not even with a child like Favour.’’
We ended up searching online to see if we could get a school for her, and we found the MO’Rainbow Foundation where she got enrolled.
Then, things took a turn for the better.
According to Mrs Bakare, ‘‘there were things we never thought she could do, but since she started learning at MO’Rainbow Foundation, she has changed.
‘‘She helps with house chores such as mopping and sweeping. She renders help a lot, and that has motivated me to always make her happy by dedicating my time to her.
Then there is the story of Mrs Tola Makinde who had to quit her banking job in 2014 to attend to her only daughter, Moyinoluwa, who was diagnosed with Down syndrome, since she was not getting the required attention as a child with special needs.
Mrs Makinde quit her 10-year banking career to look after her child, and to extend the care to others living with Down syndrome. She started engaging in a house-to-house mobilisation and sensitisation to give hope and life to people living with Down syndrome until her idea became a reality by creating the MO’Rainbow Foundation in 2015.
MO Rainbow Foundation’s Interventions
The United Nations reports that the estimated incidence of Down syndrome is between 1 in 1,000 to 1 in 1,100 live births worldwide. Each year, approximately 3,000 to 5,000 children are born with this chromosome disorder.
According to a study on the incidence of Down Syndrome in Nigeria, 1 out of 865 live births in Nigeria in the period of 9 years was born with Down Syndrome
World Bank research shows that in Nigeria, ‘‘Persons with disabilities face stigma and discrimination in the form of negative attitudes among family and community members, name-calling, and wrong beliefs about the causes of disabilities, which results in low self-esteem, depression, and isolation.’’
However, the 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) revealed that 2.4% of males and 2.1% of females are facing discrimination and harassment due to their disability status.
According to the U.S Centre for Disease Control, ‘‘Down syndrome has no specific treatment, however, some problems associated with Down syndrome can be prevented and cured. Speech therapy, social and recreational activities, specialised educational services and physical therapy can help people with Down syndrome function better.’’
The MO Rainbow Foundation helps the quality of life of people with Down syndrome by meeting their healthcare needs, including regular check-ups with health professionals to monitor their mental and physical condition and to provide timely intervention, be it physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, counselling or special education.
Also, students are exposed to vocational skills that will help them become independent in life. Afterwards, outstanding students are recruited into the Organisation as support staff and Instructors in the foundation.
A life-changing movement
Opeyemi Abiodun, a 23-year-old man, joined MO’Rainbow Foundation as a student at the Learning Centre. He graduated in 2022 and was recruited to the position of a Support staff in the foundation’s learning centre.
Mr. Abiodun is one of the 13 staff working at the MO’Rainbow Foundation where he is also passing the knowledge he acquired from the Organisation to the younger generation who are in the classroom.
‘‘I am glad to have been registered here because it exposes me to a lot of things I didn’t think I could ever know. Since I left the Foundation’s learning centre, I was retained to work as a support staff in the learning centre in 2022.
‘‘With the knowledge and skills acquired here, I hope to still learn more because there is a need to upgrade my knowledge and impact more to the younger generation’’ Mr Abiodun said.
Also, 24-year-old Olohimai-Oja Best is the first daughter of her family, and ever since her parents brought her to M0’ Rainbow Foundation, she joined the vocational skill department where she’s been exposed to different skills such as cooking and hair-making.
‘‘My name is Best Olohimai-Oja, I’m 24 years old and the first daughter of my family. Since I joined this school, I have learnt how to do good things such as cooking and making hair. I’m currently learning how to sew.
‘‘I like this school because I have learnt how to cook and other great things. When I’m done here, I would like to go to nursing school because I like to care about people.
Miss Favour now makes hair and cooks for her family members due to the knowledge acquired from the foundation.
Also, Favour Bakare, aside from being a student at the learning centre, is learning how to make hair as part of her vocational skill at the MO’Rainbow Foundation.
Ifeanyi Kalu and Chindima Kalu are active members of the music department where they learn how to play musical instruments and extend their knowledge to their churches, where they sing and play instruments in the children’s choir.
Quest to Serve Humanity
Miss Peace-Iye Ekele was posted to MO’Rainbow Foundation as a Batch B, 2019 corp member. After her youth service in 2020, she volunteered to continue to provide support for the children in the learning centre. She was recruited as the Foundation’s Communications manager.
‘‘I came here as a batch B corp member in 2019, after my service year, I volunteered to stay due to what I saw in the children. These children needed love and support. Aside from that, it is necessary to convince the world that children with Down syndrome are not less useful to society. They actually have a lot to offer the world.
‘‘Since I got here, I observed that we are proffering solutions because many children living with these predicaments are being locked up in their homes. Also, people don’t want to associate with them thinking their predicament can be contacted through touch’’
Also, Mrs Umo-Adiasung Ayodele has spent five(5) years working as a staff in the Foundation. She explained her impact and how patient the students have been with her being a teacher in the learning centre.
‘‘Joining the Foundation as a staff has been a great experience for me. These children are amazing and intelligent. All you have to do is to be patient with them and show them extra love and care. They are always ready to learn.’’
Uche Chukwuma works as a music instructor and a recreational therapist in the Foundation. According to him, ‘‘The Children are learning fast as you can see. We have our recreational centre here, and the students are always delighted to participate in the activities.
‘‘Also, some of them have the talent of singing and using other musical instruments. All I do is to teach and coordinate them whenever we have our classes.’’
Not Without Limitations
Despite the Foundation’s impact in the lives of children living with Down syndrome, the management and staff said their effectiveness is still limited by the inadequacy of essential facilities necessary to extend its reach to intending pupils beyond its immediate location.
‘‘Part of the challenges we are having is that there is no boarding facility where we can accommodate many children. We have had several calls from people living in far distances trying to connect with us on how to bring their children to our place, but we told them we have no accommodation, and that has been a challenge for us because we would have loved to have them around us.’’
‘‘Also, insufficient finance to support and sponsor children from underprivileged homes is a challenge. There are children we see that need help but because we are not financially buoyant, we only offer limited assistance to them.
‘’We lack funds. We run the Organisation by ourselves and we tend to get help from NGOs once in a while probably during events or voluntary donations, and these often come in the form of items, not money.’’
Experts react
Dr Tolulope Ige, a Paediatrician at the Federal Medical Centre, Idi-aba says the presence of extra chromosomes causes problems with the way the body and brain develop. Down Syndrome is one of the most common causes of birth defects, and children diagnosed with it require early intervention to help them develop.
‘‘People with Down syndrome often have problems with thinking and learning. These problems include Short attention span, Poor judgement, Impulsive behaviour, Slow learning, and Delayed language and speech.
‘‘A common type of Down Syndrome is Trisomy 21. In this form, the cell division issue happens during the development of the sperm or the egg. This gives the child three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the normal two copies.’’
‘‘The commencement of treatment may take place during infancy, with a comprehensive screening for related conditions such as hypothyroidism, hearing impairments, visual deficiencies, blood disorders, and gastrointestinal issues being of utmost importance.’’
Dr Ige advised that children with Down Syndrome shouldn’t be left alone, rather they should be cared for and catered for. She advised the need for early intervention.
‘‘There isn’t one standard treatment for Down syndrome. A person’s treatment depends on their case. This includes their physical and intellectual needs, strengths, and limitations.
Also, Dr. Afolabi Dosumu, a public health officer, attributed Down Syndrome birth to maternal age. According to him, ‘‘Older women are prone to giving birth to children with Down syndrome. The older they get, the older their eggs. When a woman is old during pregnancy, her eggs are more likely to divide abnormally.’’
However, the Social Development Goals (SDGs) 4 and 8 advocate that, there should be inclusive and equitable quality education and promotion of life-long learning opportunities for all focusing on eliminating gender disparities in education and ensuring equal access to all levels of education and vocational training for the vulnerable, including persons with disabilities.
It also advocates to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all, the international community aims to achieve full and productive employment and decent work for all women and men, including for persons with disabilities, and equal pay for work of equal value.