Report On Outreach for PWDs in Enugu
On 21 Nov. 2025, the Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation conducted a deeply impactful Self Esteem and Career Outreach for Persons with Disabilities (PWDs) at the Special Education Centre, Ogbete, Enugu—a school for students with hearing and speech impairments.
The lesson plan was titled, “Building Self-Esteem and Choosing My Own Path.”
Through previous visits, we had observed a troubling pattern: even students in senior secondary classes were allowing peers to dictate their subject choices and future career dreams. Many were simply following what their friends selected, rather than listening to their own hearts and strengths. This vulnerability to peer pressure, while common in adolescence, carries heightened risks for PWDs especially for students—making them more susceptible to manipulation, loss of personal values, and, in extreme cases, involvement in social misconduct or crime while still in school or after leaving school.
That is why the outreach mattered so much.
We worked closely with 30 students from JSS1 to SSS3 in an intimate, highly interactive session. Using sign language interpreters and visual aids, we brought the message alive through storytelling, powerful practical illustrations, and two exercises that left a visible mark on every participant:
* “The Stone in My Shoe” – showing how carrying other people’s opinions can hurt us every single day until we choose to remove it.
* “The Fish That Kept Changing Colour” – a beautiful metaphor for losing oneself while trying to please everyone else.
The joy and clarity in the students’ faces by the end were unforgettable.
One senior secondary girl, who had been wavering under pressure from classmates, declared with newfound confidence (through a sign language interpreter) that she now knows she wants to become a tailor—and she will pursue that dream no matter what anyone says. Another student thanked the team repeatedly, signing with excitement that the session was the most inspiring experience he had ever had in school.
The Vice Principal Mrs Christofen, Headmistress Mrs Virginia Eze, teachers, and sign language facilitators were visibly moved. They described the outreach as completely novel for their students and requested that we continue our outreaches with the school regularly.
Mrs. Uzoamaka Nwachukwu, co-founder of Cope and Live Mental Health Awareness Foundation and a trained child psychologist, reassured the students and staff that our promise to walk alongside them is unshaken.
“Moments like these are why we exist: to remind every young person—especially those the world too often overlooks—that their voice matters, their dreams are valid, and they have the power to choose their own path” she said.
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